The Living Dead
by Sweet Tragedies
Summary: [Dedicated to: Oukoku Hatsu] Naruto left his most cherished people, to protect them... disappearing years ago, he returns to warn them... only to be manipulated by Orochimaru...[sasunaru]
1. Chapter 1

Im _super_ sorry if I get information wrong about Naruto… I want to do NaruSasu but really bittersweet, my friend has given me a little info on Naruto about what happens so I have tried to make this fan fiction, she _begged_ me to submit it so I am for her...

**PLEASE R&R**

**Disclaimer: **if I owned Naruto there would be NaruSasu now wouldn't there?

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"Do you need any help?" 

"I need to speak to the Hokage" a tall dark man replied to the guard

The guards eyed the stranger suspiciously, he looked normal enough to them but had a strange aurora about him. He wore black pants and a deep navy blue shirt, a kunai pocket placed on his right thigh, a black mask that reached under his nose covering the lower half of his face, his hair was a muddy blonde but what really made them wonder was his eyes; they were a beautiful yet charming blue color, almost a soft shade of sapphire, he had looked like a missing nin to the men.

"Is she excepting you, sir?" the other guard choked out, regaining his former posture

The man just shrugged " 'suppose not…"

The two guards glanced towards each other; exchanging questioning looks they turned back to the stranger who was awaiting their answer

"I'm sorry but we cant--"

"Its _important_" the man stated not bothering to look up at them, they both glanced over to each other again; one guard raised an eyebrow to the other chuunin by the tone of his voice he realized that it must've been quite important.

"We can't just let _anyone_ see Hokage" they all turned around to see the Anbu leader, Uchiha Sasuke leaning casually on a tree

"Especially someone who doesn't give a reason" he turned to look at the three men

The stranger turned and made eye contact with the Anbu captain, Sasuke had grown taller, but his hair still had stayed the same look, he had more muscles and looked a lot stronger than he used to be; his Anbu mask was in the shape of a fox it made him look out of place, the man almost snickered at the mask, he quickly took his gaze off him and turned back to the chuunin guards and he gave them what looked like a smile from behind his mask.

"Well, thanks anyway" he said smoothly, everyone took a step back, if it was that important he would have put up more of a fight

"I guess I have to break in" with that he ran up to the two dumfounded chuunin guards

They both embraced themselves for the force of being hit, crossing their arms in front of them in a blocking stance they waited for the impact to hit them. Not feeling any force upon their arms; they opened their eyes just in time to see the stranger flying over the gate and began to run over rooftops to the Hokage's headquarters.

"He'll never learn" Sasuke sighed and jumped over the gate in unison to the young stranger, leaving the two chuunin still dumbfounded.

"He's fast…" Sasuke admitted trying to keep up with the dark fuzz getting further and further in front of him

"Sharingan" his onyx eyes turned a deadly red with three black marks around his pupils.

Soon enough he spotted the path of the stranger, picking up his pace he raced ahead of the stranger stopping right in front of his path, causing the man break into a speeding halt in front of him. The strange man had an impatient look on his face but also amused.

"The security here isn't that good is it?" the man asked, half amused

Sasuke frowned from behind his mask; he didn't like the tone of his voice

"Well, I must be going" before Sasuke could register the stranger had bounded off once again

"Oh no you don't…" Sasuke growled, and began charging after him

Sasuke slowly caught up with the stranger, he tried to knock him over but failed many times as he easily leapt over his attacks. Sasuke began to get impatient with him; he threw himself at the stranger, causing them to crash through one of the walls of the Hokage tower.

"Jeez… you bastard… if you wanted to fight you could've just asked" the stranger pushed the wounded Uchiha from his stomach and up against a wall, Sasuke groaned slightly and got up, but the strangers words had gotten to him. Sasuke clenched his fists in rage; he looked towards the bored looking man.

"No-one but _him_ was allowed to call me _that!_"Sasuke charged towards him; in an outburst of rage his hand began to glow a light blue

The stranger gulped loudly as he felt the force of the Chidori come into contact with his chest, making both of them fly into the room behind them, also known as the Hokage's office. They crashed through the wall, the stranger flew into the wall behind the Hokage while Sasuke stood in front of the large hole, that he had created from his Chidori.

"What the heck is going on?" Tsunade spoke out in rage, the Anbu that was previously with her had left in fright

"Hey, Tsunade-baba" the stranger said as he slowly wobbled to his feet, Sasuke mouth gaped behind his mask.

"H-How… did… you?" Sasuke stuttered he was lost for words, no scratches were visible on his body and the man just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sasuke please go get Jiraiya" she sighed, Sasuke just nodded and left without a fuss trying to get his head together

"So your back, eh?" she said, leaning back in her chair.

"Thanks for the welcome…" he replied sarcastically

"Why did you come back?" she asked, completely ignoring his comment

"I need to warn you about something" Naruto replied in a serious tone, she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she asked, confused

"Tsunade, what did you want?" a man with long white hair entered the room; he had two red markings from eyes reaching down to the bottom of his cheeks.

"Yo, Ero sennin" the blonde stranger waved to the confused man

"You…" Jiraiya whispered in shock

Sasuke waited behind Jiraiya, trying to decipher was on earth was happening and how it all included this strange man, Jiraiya and the Hokage seemed to know him and what they were all talking about, Sasuke eagerly wanted to understand it all. Jiraiya tried to suppress wanting to hug the young man to death, even Tsunade had to try as well.

"So what was the warning for?" Tsunade asked, impatiently

"Akatsuki" he replied plainly

"What?" she said loudly, in confusion

"And Orochimaru" they were all dumbfounded

"… He can't be…"

"He's coming this way…" the man said sternly "the recent missing nins are with him…and Akatsuki as well they have been going through many places already… Orochimaru will be leading them here soon, I can tell"

"But I thought you…" Jiraiya and Tsunade started in unison, but stopped when the man shook his head

"After that day, he took over the body of someone else…" he sighed, lowering his head slightly

"I see…" Tsunade said, thinking over the situation

"What about you?" the man looked up at her, she continued, "how's the… Kyuubi?" Sasuke gasped

"Im still not taken over yet" he gave a large grin from behind his mask "but, it has gotten worse…" he sighed

"Oh, I understand…" Tsunade nodded towards him, Jiraiya finally spoke up

"I guess we have to be careful then…" he sighed and nodded at the same time

_No... Way… it cant be…_ Sasuke was on the verge of a mental breakdown; he grasped his head between his fingers as if he was in pain

That was it; Sasuke had snapped, he lunged himself at the young man again and pressed him up against the wall behind them. He placed his arm firmly across his neck, causing the man to stop breathing. Sasuke's hot breath ran down his neck; he pulled up his own mask to get a good look at the mysterious man, his hand touched the top of his mask, he gently ran his finger over the top of it; and he latched his fingers around the rim of it. He pulled down his mask to reveal 3 whisker-like scars marking both his cheeks.

"Naruto…" his arm pressed down further on his neck "we all thought you were _dead_" Naruto choked, as more weight pressed against his neck

"Stop that now or he _will_ be dead," Tsunade ordered, Sasuke glared at Naruto before letting him fall to the ground; gasping for air

"Well, we'll go prepare for Orochimaru's arrival" they all nodded, she continued "Sasuke warn the Anbu about this alright?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Sasuke said politely, bowing sensibly

"See ya" Naruto pulled his mask back over his face and he approached the door to leave

"And just _where_ are you going?" Tsunade questioned, as Naruto turned on his heel to face her

"Uhhh away?" he stammered, as he pointed towards the doorway

"Oh no your not!" she ordered, slamming her hands down on the desk, everyone flinched "you can't leave _now_ your staying right here you brat!"

"But I cant…" Naruto whined

"You almost defeated him once… so im sure you can do it this time" she admitted

Naruto nodded "I guess…" he thought over this and continued; "But… were can I stay?"

The Hokage sighed and fell back into her chair "Your right… for once…" Naruto huffed at the rude comment

"Good, now I'll be leaving" he sighed, trying to leave again

"W-wait, you can stay with me" Sasuke managed to blurt out, stopping Naruto in mid-air as he was about to leave the room

Sasuke got an uneasy feeling when all eyes landed on him; he kept a bored expression on his face as Naruto, Tsunade and Jiraiya's mouths gaped wide they all knew Sasuke was '_anti-social_' so it was very strange news to them

"Very well then" the Hokage choked out and nodded towards Sasuke

"You can't be serious Tsunade-baba!?" Naruto hissed in fury

"Well, we have to keep you safe and make sure you don't run so, yes. I _am_ serious," she stated, crossing her arms

Naruto sighed angrily, Sasuke's face twisted into a scowl

_Does he really want to leave that badly? _Sasuke's scowl deepened, he forcefully pulled the mask back over his face and dragged the protesting blonde out of the office.

For the whole walk to the Uchiha Residence they were silent, Sasuke would take quick glances over at Naruto who was in the same position each time, his head was lowered and he continued to stare at his feet; he seemed to be in very deep thought, this worried Sasuke, the teenager he once knew was gone, his hair or eyes didn't seem to have the same shine they once had. Sasuke began to get a worried feeling about the whole '_new_' Naruto, Naruto looked up to Sasuke, Sasuke gave a deep frown behind his mask his eyes showed no emotions, he was no longer the bubbly knucklehead most people knew him at, he was most of a fragile soul trying to mask his pain.

_Naruto… _Sasuke turned back as Naruto returned to looking at his feet and where he was placing them on the ground

_What's happened to you Naruto…?

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Did you like it?  
Please tell me by reviewing to the first chapter and also tell me if I got the information on Naruto correct. Thank you!  
It would also be much appreciated if you could send me information on Naruto, just say tell me and I will reply with my email for you

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	2. Chapter 2

Yes. Yes, Mah friend also begged me into sending in this chapter, so blame her: **_you try having someone constantly nudge you on msn!_**

Ahh… Besides from that, I still need people to give me information on Orochimaru and Sasuke's disappearance AND AKATSUKI!!!

**Disclaimer:** I bet _no-one_ reads this… no I don't own Naruto

* * *

_Years earlier_

Tsunade paced around the hospital beds, waiting for Naruto to regain consciousness; he had been out for three days she was holding on to dear hope that he would wake up from his endless slumber, but was she just clinging on to blind hope?

Sakura waited eagerly at another bedside, lying in the bed was an unconscious Uchiha; he had fainted not much later than Naruto had. Sakura's strawberry locks hovered above Sasuke's face; she shared the time to also wait for Naruto's awakening, her emerald eyes were filled with worry for the young man, Sakura was hoping that Naruto's wounds had not affected him enough to die.

Two days earlier, was a grim day for Konoha.

Orochimaru had taken control of Sasuke's body, Naruto having a true fight with the Uchiha prodigy in at least three years; their last fight had left Naruto unconscious and the dark-haired shinobi as a missing nin.

Orochimaru had returned with Akatsuki, recent missing nins from sound and of course Sasuke Uchiha. Konoha had been ready for Orochimaru's return for years.

Tsunade was in her office explaining to Naruto the situation so he would not mess it up, she noted that he was their '_weapon_' if they had needed it, only moments later a chuunin had teleported into the office of the Hokage.'

"Hokage-sama, they have broken through the gates already" the man frantically choked out

"Warn the village and get more help!" she ordered the chuunin, standing abruptly

"Hai!" The chuunin nodded and teleported off

"Now, Naruto. Forget _everything_ I told you about being the weapon, this could get serious we need your help now" she turned to see the young man nod his head; a serious look marked his face.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya called out, as he burst through the doorway

"What is it?" her voice filled with concern

"Orochimaru is getting closer, we need more help!" Jiraiya panted out, Tsunade looked towards Naruto

"Right!" She nodded, Naruto looked up to her waiting gaze "…Naruto we need your help _now!_"

Naruto knew this was serious, he never got called upon so quickly; he wasn't as strong as an Anbu, so it must've been dangerous for them to ask so much of him, so quickly.

"I understand…" Naruto said

They all left towards the soon-to-be battlefield. A large snake slithered forward as the fight was getting closer to the village, perched atop the large beast were two figures. Naruto looked as close as he could, the two figures turned out to be Kabuto and Sasuke, Kabuto looked how he had always looked except his hair had grown longer and he was slightly taller than last time, a smirk played across his lips and he saw the many defeats of Anbu and other ninja. Sasuke was slightly taller than when Naruto had last seen him, a maniacal smile tugged at his lips; and the look in Sasuke's eyes was not normal, it was Orochimaru, it was… bloodlust.

"Nice to see you again, Tsunade, Naruto and Jiraiya" Orochimaru boomed, Naruto tensed as his name left Sasuke's lips.

"Orochimaru…" Naruto whispered to himself in fury, clenching and un-clenching his fist in rage

They all heard Orochimaru's maniacal laugh erupting from atop the snake, from Sasuke's mouth.

"I swear I will kill you!" Naruto screamed out from below the snake, Orochimaru laughed again.

"Still the same idiot, I see" Orochimaru said, slight amusement creeping into his voice.

"That's it Orochimaru" Jiraiya boomed, "This is the end"

"Finally…" he chuckled, "This will be fun"

Naruto went to approach the large snake, when a pair of hands stopped him; by grasping his shoulder

"No, Naruto…" Tsunade sighed, "Let Jiraiya finish him"

"Not a chance, Tsunade-baba!" Naruto protested, trying to wriggle out of her grasp

"I said--" She was cut off by Jiraiya

"Let him do it Tsunade…" Jiraiya spoke in a serious tone

"What? He could be killed!" she screeched, Jiraiya shook his head in protest

"I will _not_ let that happen" Jiraiya stated, cracking his knuckles " Lets go Naruto"

The 15-year-old nodded and ran after Jiraiya, They both used chakra to run up the massive snake's scaly body, they soon made it to the top of the snake's head without fault (_amazingly_). Orochimaru would have given his congratulations to the young boy, if he weren't such a hard ass.

Naruto and Jiraiya panted slightly, they soon regained their postures and surveyed the area; Kabuto and Sasuke stood there both having deep smirks plastered onto their faces, their arms were crossed waiting for the two men to attack or to speak.

"Kabuto…" Orochimaru whispered to the young man beside him, Kabuto nodded and lunged at Naruto

"Holy Sh--" Naruto cursed as Kabuto's weight knocked him off his feet

Naruto kicked his legs in an upward motion into Kabuto's stomach, giving him enough time to scramble from underneath the man. Kabuto regained his posture as soon as Naruto left him; Naruto grabbed out three shuriken's and threw them in Kabuto's direction. Kabuto caught them with ease and smirked.

"That all you got?" he mocked, throwing them back faster to Naruto

Naruto quickly dodged the three before a forth one lodged itself in Naruto's shoulder, Naruto ripped it from his flesh, ignoring his now bleeding and wounded shoulder; he let a mischievous smirk tugged at his lips.

"They were a distraction…" the smirk left his lips, he tossed the bloodied shuriken to the ground "wont get me that easily again!"

Naruto charged for Kabuto, who had readied himself into a fighting stance. Naruto threw a punch, which was caught by Kabuto; Naruto took a chance and threw his leg around in an attempt to knock him over, which he did successfully. Kabuto flew over to the edge of the snake's head; pulling himself back up, he placed his hand on either side of his head and snapped it to the side making a 'pop' sound emerge, Naruto scrunched his nose in disgust.

"Looks like they are having fun over there…" Orochimaru gestured towards the fighting to Jiraiya

"Orochimaru…" anger sounded in Jiraiya's voice "this ends _here!_"

Orochimaru stifled a laugh "for you maybe…"

Jiraiya bit his thumb and began performing seals, but stopped suddenly as Naruto spoke up during his fight

"If you summon him, the village will be destroyed!" Naruto strangled out while trying to hold off Kabuto

Jiraiya stopped the summoning, Orochimaru took this as an opportunity and came forward, he knocked Jiraiya's chin, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Lucky shot…" Jiraiya mumbled under his breath, wiping away blood trickling from his mouth with the back of his hand

"Maybe…" Orochimaru smirked "But this wont be…"

Sasuke's hand began to glow a light blue, the deep maniacal smirk returned to his face. Jiraiya gulped down his saliva, loudly. He was in no position to be jumping off the snake and leaving Naruto to Orochimaru's wrath; he felt the chakra rising in Sasuke's hand. He bravely stood still and awaited his fate.

"Jiraiya!!" Naruto cried as he struggled to get out of Kabuto's grasp

Naruto swung his leg back and kicked him in the crotch causing him to release his hold on Naruto's neck.

Every thing seemed to go into slow motion, Sasuke's hand, as it got ready to plow into Jiraiya, Naruto's running and many words played through his head.

'_Do you have a special someone?'_

'_My body just moved… I had no time to think…'_

Everyone stood there silently; no one had made a move for a while. It had happened so fast; all the Anbu and missing nin had stopped to see the commotion. Horrified faces were plastered on everyone's faces, except for Sasuke, his shocked face was now replaced with a smirk if it was possible it looked even crueler than it once was.

Naruto's hands were firmly placed on Sasuke's lower arm; Sasuke's hand was driven through his body, his fingers twitched as the cold air touched his blood covered hands. Jiraiya was lost for words; Naruto had taken the shot that was meant to be his death not Naruto's. Orochimaru returned his hand to himself, ripping it out of Naruto's body. Orochimaru took a good look at Sasuke's hand that was covered with his best-friend's blood.

Naruto stumbled backwards gently falling into Jiraiya's arms; he looked up to Jiraiya's horrified face. Naruto just had a soft smile playing on his lips, but it soon turned into a large grin.

"You ok??" he coughed up vast amounts of blood, he still had a grin on his face, masking his pain

"Naruto, you Baka!" Jiraiya couldn't understand the situation

Naruto's grin was replaced with a soft but sweet smile his eyes were half lidded "Well…"

Jiraiya laid Naruto atop the snakehead; Naruto struggled into a slight sitting position; although his face still remained the same look it was moments ago "If im an idiot, to save those I love most…"

Naruto broke into a stupid grin "…then im the most idiotic person in the world…" he continued to coughed blood up, his throat burned and his grin was replaced with a sore expression.

"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered he reached his hand forward to touch the wilted blonde.

"No!" Orochimaru took back control of Sasuke's body causing him to fall over

"Get... Out…" Sasuke's began to tug at his hair, scrunching his eyes in pain "_now_!"

"N-No!" Orochimaru screeched back at him

All they could do was watch as Sasuke fought with himself, nearly pulling his hair out in the process. Everyone still watched the commotion from below the large snake; they could her Orochimaru's and Sasuke's voices fighting with each other

"Ano…" Sakura whimpered to the Hokage, who turned to look at her "What's going on up there, Hokage-sama?"

"Sasuke's getting his body back…" Tsunade replied flatly, but Sakura noticed relief in her tone

"Really?" Sakura beamed as Tsunade nodded

'_Ha no-one steals Sasuke's body and gets away with it!!_' Inner Sakura squealed in delight

Jiraiya and Naruto watched in awe as Sasuke's face kept turning from smirk's to frown's

"You... can't win…" Orochimaru whispered

"I _already_ have…" Sasuke smirked as Orochimaru was relinquished from his body

"You'll pay for that, Uchiha!" with that Orochimaru and Kabuto had disappeared

Jiraiya quickly teleported them to the ground as the snake left, the nins had already began running away from the field, worried about what happened to Orochimaru or more importantly what would happen to _them_? Sasuke smirked as he saw the nins disperse the area, but broke his thoughts when Naruto spoke up.

"Welcome back, Teme…" Naruto weakly smiled to him, tears welled up in Sasuke's eyes but he wouldn't let them fall

"Come on Teme… remove that mask…" was all Naruto could whisper before loosing consciousness

"N-Naruto?" Sasuke stuttered crouching, down to Naruto's unconscious figure

"Naruto…" he noticed the large hole just below his ribs, they looked broken. He retracted his hand, as he was about to touch Naruto's face as if it would burn him. Naruto's words rang through his mind.

_'Come on Teme… remove that mask…' _

"Naruto!" Sasuke began sobbing loudly into Naruto's neck, tears flew freely down his cheeks and for once he didn't care.

He didn't care about his reputation. The others beside him. His ambitions. Nothing it all blacked out, He just wanted Naruto alive and well again, to smile at him when he wouldn't give him the same treatment back.

Sasuke had also fainted; the stress was too much for Sasuke to handle in one night. Tsunade had to pry off Sasuke from Naruto; he didn't want to leave him.

Three days later Naruto woke up, to see a surprised Tsunade right up to his face almost scaring the living daylights out of the poor blonde, Sakura had already left to get some sleep, the only ones left were Jiraiya, Tsunade and an unconscious Uchiha.

"Oh thank heavens above!" Tsunade sighed, clasping her hands in silent pray.

"You really scared us, Naruto" Jiraiya admitted, also sighing in relief

Naruto stayed quiet for once, Tsunade and Jiraiya worried Naruto would have already started boasting about how strong he was to not die from the Chidori, but he hadn't spoken a word since he had woken up.

"Naruto--" Tsunade couldn't finish her sentence before Naruto interrupted

"…Hokage-sama" Tsunade nearly fell off her chair when he had addressed her properly "its not safe for me to be here…"

"What!?" Tsunade choked on her own rage

"Orochimaru… he will be back… he wants Kyuubi…"

"I will not let--" she was silenced by Naruto continuing

"If he's after the Kyuubi, He's after me and if im in Konoha he will…" Naruto gulped but continued, "…Destroy anything and everything to get the Kyuubi's power"

"You brat! I wont let you! When Orochimaru returns we _will_ be ready!" Tsunade shouted, Naruto shook his head

"I will do anything... to protect my friends… and everyone in this village…" Tsunade opened her mouth to protest but her mouth clicked shut

"Naruto… are you sure…?" Jiraiya said, his voice filled with worry

"I am…" Naruto walked over to Sasuke, a limp added to his step

"Im sorry Sasuke…" Naruto whispered brushing back a few of Sasuke's bangs

Naruto grabbed a mask that was placed on a table beside Sasuke; he pulled it up so it covered the lower half of his face, covering his whisker-scars.

"Goodbye" and with that it was they both saw the last of Naruto

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I have just been informed this is like another fanfic, so this will be discontinued I do not want to copyright another's work  
Sorry to the author of that fanfic

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	3. Chapter 3

A very big thank you to Oukoku hatsu, you have convinced me too continue this, and also thank you to the others that told me to continue and not worry about others and also thanks to my onii-chan (probably wont ever read this)

But this has been especially dedicated to one: **Oukoku hatsu!!!** (Please read their awesome story as well)

**Disclaimer:** No I don't own Naruto

* * *

Sasuke had avoided making any conversation with Naruto incase he hit a sore spot, obviously he wanted to know why he had left or why he had faked his death, questions were practically screaming at the Uchiha prodigy to be asked and answered with no buts. Unfortunately Sasuke was not that type to start booming out questions and wanting no 'ifs or buts' about it, Naruto was shuffling behind the black-haired ninja just gazing down at his very interesting feet not daring to speak out of term to the man. Sasuke was starting to get a twitch as questions were filling his head and almost clouding his vision or sense of direction, he would've walked idly by his house (kind of hard to miss) and continued down the street if Naruto hadn't asked him if that was his house they had just past; Sasuke mentally kicked himself for acting so idiotic and brushed past Naruto without even an apology for being so blind. 

Sasuke quickly opened up his door, stepping to one side to let Naruto inside before himself. They both walked out of their shoes and entered Sasuke's kitchen, Naruto sat himself down on a chair parked at the bench and let out a soft sigh, Sasuke didn't know whether it was from depression or glad that the whole walk was over. Sasuke guessed that it was a little of both.

"Hungry?" Sasuke questioned rummaging through his cupboards in search of something edible

"Yep" Naruto said with a grin from behind his mask

"You _can_ take that mask off dobe, and what do you want to eat?" Sasuke smirked; he could practically hear Naruto's pout

Naruto stopped pouting and started to pull down the mask that covered the lower half of his face, he hastily placed it in one of his many pockets located on his pants, Sasuke didn't get a good look of his face before but he was surprised on how much he had grown up and how much more mature he looked. Naruto now had a very well defined jaw line; his whiskers had gotten slightly thicker and longer, his lips looked so soft yet untouchable. Sasuke licked his dry lips and continued search of food before Naruto answered his question "Come on Teme, you know I want ramen more than anything" Sasuke almost smiled at the comment, _almost…_

"Hn. I know…" Sasuke smirked pulling out a box of instant ramen; he walked over to the bench and started to boil the water as he placed down the box of ramen

"So… Tell me…" Naruto started, grabbing Sasuke's attention "how is everyone?" he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer but he let himself anyway

Sasuke stayed silent for a while contemplating his answer, while thinking over his answer he had placed the ramen in front of Naruto who was now waiting an extra 3 minutes, finally Sasuke answered

"Well, Sakura is now a medical nin…" Sasuke started, Naruto just smiled after hearing the news

"I knew she would be…" Naruto mumbled more to himself than Sasuke

Sasuke nodded and continued, "and most of us have become ANBU…" Naruto smiled again

"That reminds me…" Naruto slurped up his noodles and looked at Sasuke with a grin on his face "What's with your mask?"

"What's wrong with it?" Sasuke raised an elegant black eyebrow at the blonde bimbo

"Well… It's a fox… kind of weird for you…" Naruto said, the grin still plastered on his face

"It's because…" Sasuke swallowed hard and continued, "… It reminded me of you…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him "Why would you want to be reminded of me?"

"Because…" Sasuke tore his gaze from Naruto and looked at something off to the side of Naruto "…I don't know… I just do…"

Naruto couldn't help but smile at the comment; he liked how Sasuke was so bold with his words. Naruto always had wanted to be like him, but before he had faked his death he had really learnt how complicated and complex Sasuke's life was. Living with the grief and burden of you family being killed by your brother, of course Naruto had no family… but he never had one so he never knew what it was like to lose one. Sasuke could tell Naruto was in deep thought, so he didn't disturb the blonde shinobi.

Sasuke removed the empty and nearly licked clean bowl from in front of him and placed it in the sink, not soon after the clank of the bowl hitting the metal surface in the sink, Naruto had shaken off his trance and was now apologizing over and over again for being so dumb to space off like that. Sasuke grabbed a chair besides Naruto and sat beside him on an angle, they both decided it was question and answer time for Naruto and Sasuke. They started to exchange information about what has happened during Naruto's untimely departure, laughs and growls were going off every few sentence's spoke. Yes, Naruto was truly home again.

"So Sakura _actually_ missed me?" Naruto felt dumbfounded when Sasuke had announced that to him

Sasuke nodded "Yeah, after your death she wouldn't stop crying… it was _really_ annoying" Sasuke cringed, he could still hear that whiney high-pitched cry of hers and her loud snorts

"Ha! I would've loved to see that…"Naruto chuckled, " 7 years ago I mean…"

"So… you don't?" Sasuke asked, a little confused

"Nah, my love for her went when I went…" Naruto sighed but with a smile

Sasuke simply nodded to the answer from Naruto, they sat there in silence for at least 4 minutes before Naruto started another conversation "And you…?"

"Hm?" Sasuke didn't understand the question

"And you…" Naruto's eye were half-lidded, he looked like he was about to fall asleep "…missed me? Right?"

Sasuke was dumbfounded; he really wanted to know if Sasuke was sad about him going? Sasuke couldn't understand why he wanted to know but it had a strange effect on him, like he wanted Naruto to feel happy that he had missed him "Of course I missed you, dobe," Sasuke stated coolly.

Naruto just flashed him the sweetest smile only seen in fairy tales and nodded "Thanks Sasuke you don't know how much that means to me"

That smile made Sasuke's stomach do black flips, he wasn't sure why but he adored the way Naruto would give him various smiles but only to him, he remembered when he first felt jealousy… Naruto had smiled sweetly towards Gaara who happily returned his smile… Sasuke wasn't sure what the feeling he got was back then, but now he realizes he was jealous.

After their long conversation it was 9:23pm Naruto was feeling sleepy after his long, wild and unexpected day, and had decided to wash up and head in for the day. Sasuke had guided Naruto to the bathroom and handed him some of his clothing to sleep in, which consisted of a navy blue Uchiha shirt and black boxers. Naruto had a long cold shower, to shake off his drowsiness. Naruto apologized towards Sasuke for not being able to stay up and keep him company but Sasuke reassured everything was fine and that he should get his rest.

Once again Sasuke had shown Naruto to one of his many guest rooms, it was right besides Sasuke's bedroom. His room was about as big as Sasuke's and had the same décor in the rooms, although all the room looked quite similar…

"Goodnight Sasuke…" Naruto gave Sasuke a warm smile who, happily returned his smile

"Yeah night, dobe" Sasuke said exiting the room, Naruto ignored the insult and waved gently even after the door had closed

Naruto groaned and flopped down on the bed, he snuggled his face closer into the soft pillow under his face and sighed happily "I wonder how long it's been since I last slept on a bed? 2… 3 weeks?" Naruto spoke to himself, his face still deep in the pillow. Naruto lazily moved towards the light switch flipping it off and pulling off the covers before hopping underneath them and smiling himself to sleep, all his worries and regrets melted away that evening while chatting with Sasuke, he felt like he truly belonged some where in this world.

--_Morning--_

Naruto groaned as he sat up in the soft bed below himself, he ran a tanned hand through his soft blonde locks; letting his bangs fall down randomly over his face. Naruto's hair had grown longer as he got older he had also gotten stronger, although he didn't look it; not many muscles were visible from beneath his shirt, but everyone knew he was stronger than he used to be.

Naruto stretched his arms upwards and ruffled his hair; he flipped his legs over the side of the bed and began trudging towards the door. Naruto rubbed his sleep eyes once he was in the hallway and continued downstairs towards the kitchen, Sasuke was already up but not awake he looked like he was ready to kill anyone who spoke out of term. Unfortunately Naruto did so.

"Not a morning person eh?" Naruto chuckled at the pathetic attempt at a glare from Sasuke; needless to say he didn't look very intimidating

Sasuke just snorted and slurped down his coffee that was conveniently placed beside him on the bench, Naruto plopped down in his previous chair from last night and let out a loud sigh, Sasuke had made a coffee for him already and it was cooling gently on the bench.

Naruto took a large gulp of his coffee and set it back down on the bench, Sasuke was casually staring off into space until a knock at the door and squealing high-pitched voices were sounded. Naruto almost flipped when their laughter rang through his ears, and who was at the door? None other than Ino and Sakura; Naruto suspected their unconditional love for sasuke hadn't past... after hearing the commotion outside that is...

"Sa-su-ke-KUN!!!" they pronounced each syllable of Sasuke's name with delight

"They still like you?" Naruto asked, a little sadness tweaking his words

"No" Sasuke replied, flatly

Naruto raised his eyebrows "You serious? Then who do they like?"

Sasuke wasn't hesitant to answer, "Sakura is with Lee and Ino is with Shikamaru" (Sorry about Ino and Shikamaru… it's the only guy I like with her)

Naruto nearly choked on his coffee "Fuzzy eyebrows? And that lazy bastard? Wow…"

Sasuke smirked at Naruto's approach to the situation, he finally realized that Ino and Sakura were still pounding on the door and were now shouting random threats towards Sasuke about his door and his life. Sasuke hastily opened the door to see a fuming pink-haired girl and a growling blonde girl, to say the least Sasuke was nervous on what they would to him.

"Sasuke…" Ino started, cracking her knuckles for effect

"Yeah?" Sasuke asked, trying to hide his slight fear

"Ehehehe…" Ino chuckled evilly under her breath

While Sasuke was busy trying to keep Ino from attacking him, Sakura had slipped past Sasuke and was now walking aimlessly around his house. She sat down on a chair in a random room, she sighed wondering why they were there again. Sakura soon got bored and went to fetch Ino when she spotted a figure sitting on a chair in the kitchen, not wanting to be rude although she was curious she went to greet the other man inside the house.

"Hello, have we met? Im Sakura by the way" She said happily to Naruto

Naruto dared not to say a word incase she noticed his voice, his hands were crossed on the bench with his face buried in them; his whiskers weren't visible from Sakura's position, so he hoped that she wouldn't step closer. Unfortunately she did…

"Don't be shy, I just want to be friends…" She said, walking closer to blonde "What's your na--"

She stopped with her mouth agape, She had noticed the whisker-like scars on his cheek and was lost for words. She was starting to twitch slightly and uttered incoherent words to Naruto.

"Na… Na… Na… gah… bah… zah…" Sakura continued to utter those words over and over again; Naruto knew she had figured out who he was so he didn't bother to hide his scars any more.

"Sakura…" He spoke softly not wanting to startle the girl, bad for him it did

Sakura let out a high-pitched scream before falling backwards; with Naruto agility he quickly caught her before she hit the ground, He placed her gently on the ground before Ino and Sasuke came rushing in.

"Sakura what's--" Ino's eyes widened when she saw Naruto hovering over Sakura, his bangs covered his eyes but unfortunately not his scars

"Na-Na-Na…ruto?" Was all she could manage to say

Naruto just sighed and nodded, Ino let out a high-pitch scream almost identical to Sakura's and fell backwards as well, Sasuke caught her and laid her back down on the floor as well, Sasuke sighed and looked at the two unconscious girls and then at Naruto

"Do you think we should tell them the truth?" Sasuke asked, cautiously

Naruto hesitantly nodded and bit his bottom lip as he thought of the situation

"Once these two wake up we'll explain everything…" Sasuke sighed and dragged Ino over to a couch and placed her on it softly, while Naruto did the same with Sakura on a couch opposite to the one Ino was placed on.

"Hey Naruto?" Sasuke smirked at the idea he had gotten

"Hm?" Naruto mumbled, stretching his arms outwards

"Wanna Spar?"

* * *

Ooooo I'll need help with the sparring session between those two, anyone who is willing to help can and I don't care what you people say about "it's like that other fanfiction BLAH, BLAH!!" NO ONE GIVES A CRAP!! … (Ahem) once again this is dedicated to  
**Oukoku Hatsu **

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	4. Chapter 4

Mwuhahahahaha (rabid fangirlness) im nuts… no, Elise not peanuts… AND no more annoying emails!! Hehe… you people probably don't know what I mean (sweatdrops) once again **Please read Oukoku Hatsu's fanfiction** (it's very suspenseful, but defiantly worth reading)

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Naruto (bangs head on nearest wall)

* * *

**--**_Previously_**--**

"_Do you think we should tell them the truth?" Sasuke asked, cautiously_

_Naruto hesitantly nodded and bit his bottom lip as he thought of the situation_

"_Once these two wake up we'll explain everything…" Sasuke sighed and dragged Ino over to a couch and placed her on it softly, while Naruto did the same with Sakura on a couch opposite to the one Ino was placed on._

"_Hey Naruto?" Sasuke smirked at the idea he had gotten_

"_Hm?" Naruto mumbled, stretching his arms outwards_

"_Wanna Spar?"_

Naruto didn't know why he agreed to it, it seemed like a good idea at the time but now he was defiantly starting to reconsider his answer. Sasuke had asked him to join him in a sparring session; of course Naruto still had his childish ways and eagerly accepted the challenge, at the time he didn't realize he had to go _outside _and to their old training grounds to spar with him, this information was new too him when Sasuke had informed him later of this. Naruto had borrowed some of Sasuke's clothes again which was a pair of black shorts and navy blue Uchiha shirt, Naruto knew that people would recognize him for his whiskers were still clearly marked upon his tanned face. So he had made the decision to wear his mask outside to keep his whiskers hidden, Sasuke tried to object but Naruto obviously would listen and was already out the door by the time Sasuke was only half way through his rant about the mask.

Sasuke didn't understand why Naruto didn't want people to recognize him, was it because he had faked his death all these years? Or maybe he just thought he hadn't belonged during his life in Konoha, why would he belong now? Sasuke pushed all those thoughts aside when he noticed to big blue orbs staring deep into his coal black ones, Sasuke's eyes widened a little scared he would have eagerly pushed him away and began yelling at him but instead he narrowed his eyes and scowled at the blonde.  
Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Sasuke's reactions; Sasuke's scowl deepened before he rudely pushed past Naruto and continued his way to the training grounds.

Passers-bys took glances at the strange blonde-haired man, not many had recognized him without his scars being visible. No one was throwing insults at him as he walked down the street, still not far behind the Uchiha prodigy; it was quite strange to see people Naruto didn't recognize or know smile towards him in a silent attempt to greet him. Naruto happily smiled back at them, not sure how to react to this situation. Sasuke noticed Naruto looked a little uneasy as he smiled towards the villagers, Sasuke turned back and hollered out to the blonde shinobi

"Hey hurry up, Dead-last…" Naruto growled but hurried up his pace, not much later Sasuke and Naruto had finally reached the training grounds… Naruto smiled, it was just how he had left it…

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and smirked, he knew he was reminiscing about the times they all shared there being team 7… Sasuke took a quick stretch before getting into a good fighting stance, as did Naruto. They both just stood there for a while wanting each other to attack, a cool breeze had picked up and blew their hair carelessly to the side of their faces before it died down. Neither moved for a while waiting for one another to charge, Naruto finally spoke up "Uhh Sasuke… Ladies first…" Naruto smirked as Sasuke let out an animalistic growl and charged.

Sasuke threw a punch at Naruto, which he gracefully caught and threw his own punch aimed at Sasuke's stomach, Sasuke gasped loudly when the force came in contact with his stomach; Sasuke fell to the ground and threw his legs around in an attempt to knock Naruto off his feet. Naruto fell backwards on to his backside with a slight "oof" escaping his lips; Naruto quickly rubbed his sore backside before jumping to his feet and performing some hand seals.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto hollered and at least 20 identical copies of Naruto appeared; Sasuke could only smirk watching all the copies get ready to charge at him. _Just like old times_… Sasuke whispered to himself

They all charged at Sasuke their fists ready to throw punches at him, Sasuke quickly performed some hand seals and called out " Katon no jutsu" Sasuke took a deep breath before exhaling fire balls aimed at the many clones, they all flew backwards from the force, some of them burning before they popped away. Individually they all left except one… the real Naruto, he was clutching to his chest that had smoke emitting from it. He slowly wobbled to his feet before he choked out a few words.

"F-fuck teme… your jutsu come along way…" Naruto removed his had to reveal some minor burns marking his chest "…But so have I…"

Naruto charged for Sasuke, Sasuke was taken slightly back from the look in his eyes… bloodlust… Naruto's eyes were now a hellish red and his pupils were more slit. _The fire jutsu must've awoken the Kyuubi_… Sasuke though before claws started to dig into the flesh on his back, it felt completely un-natural as the claws seeped under his skin.

Sasuke cringed; Naruto had his legs wrapped around Sasuke's waist to keep him in place, his head was lying on his shoulder and his arms were wrapped around his shoulders as his claws were still digging into his back. If you were just walking past you would thinking they were hugging one another… if you didn't see the blood that is… Sasuke could feel the back of his shirt become soggy with the blood oozing from his deep gashes marked on his back, Naruto could only smirk before he sunk his sharp canines into Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke sharply inhaled his breath with clenched teeth; Sasuke felt tears well up in his eyes from the pain, Naruto just sunk his teeth deeper into his shoulder liking the agonizing cries and pleas.

"Naruto…" Sasuke placed his hand atop Naruto's head "That's enough… stop…"

Naruto stopped biting into Sasuke's shoulder and look down at the large and bleeding bite mark "…Sasuke…" Naruto's eyes turned back to their normal angelic blue color and his fangs and claws turned back to normal as well, Naruto gasped at the 8 large gashes on his back, fortunately they were not very deep so he would not need stitches nor would they leave a scar.

"Sasuke… I'm... Im… so sorry… it's just the fire jutsu was…" Naruto stopped apologizing; he knew he couldn't apologize his way out of this situation

"It's fine, just help me get home…" Sasuke mumbled into his hand, Naruto threw his arm around his shoulder and helped him walk home

Naruto pulled his mask back over his face with his free hand before people began to notice his whisker-like scars; Sasuke winced slightly as the blood ran down his back. People walking by stopped to stare and even whisper about the Uchiha's condition, Sasuke sent glares their way startling the villagers and making them turn their attention towards something else, like the fact the great Uchiha is actually getting help to walk back. Naruto felt uneasy when all eyes landed on him but continued to help Sasuke walk to his house, Sasuke steadily unlocked his door and entered he house not bothering to take off his shoes. Naruto took off his shoes and placed them by the door, with a quick glance at the two unconscious girls he went to follow Sasuke to give him help. He pulled down his mask so it was hanging around his neck.

Naruto quietly knocked on Sasuke's bedroom door; he heard a muffled 'come in' so he entered. The room was dark, barely being lit by the sun peering in the closed curtains. Sasuke was sitting on his bed in a crouched over position, Naruto slowly approached the dark figure and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Im really sorry Sasuke…" was all Naruto could think to say

"It's ok _really,_" Sasuke muttered, his eyes meeting soft blue ones

"Ummm if you want I could help you clean your wounds" Naruto said, nervously

Sasuke was about to protest but the thought finally crossed his mind, his wounds were on his back and in a difficult position to clean and treat so he agreed that Naruto could help him treat his wounds. Sasuke lead Naruto in to the bathroom and sat down on a conveniently placed stool in the bathroom, Sasuke took off his shirt and Naruto cringed; how could he have done so much damage to someone he cares so much about… Naruto grabbed a wet cloth and began dabbed the open wounds and washing away the dry blood that stained his skin. Naruto placed the slightly blood stained cloth beside him and grabbed a bottle of antiseptic before dabbing it on Sasuke's wounds, Naruto did the same with the bite mark and wrapped Sasuke's torso and right shoulder, so his wounds would heal faster.

Sasuke mumbled a 'thanks' under his breath before he stood up, Sasuke glanced back at Naruto who was still sitting on the floor his bangs covered his eyes so Sasuke couldn't under stand what was feeling.

"You'd think after years being the Kyuubi's vessel I shoulder be able took control it…" Naruto tried to laugh the situation off but was failing terribly at it

"Now I know why Akatsuki wants its power so much…" Sasuke could only stare at Naruto, "im dangerous… _really dangerous_…"

Sasuke sucked in everything Naruto had said to him it worried him. _Something must've happened while Naruto was gone… Something truly bad _Sasuke thought as he continued to stare at Naruto

"It's not safe for me to be here…" Naruto buried his face into his hands "Akatsuki will stop at nothing to get the Kyuubi…"

Sasuke hesitantly rubbed the blonde's back as a soothing gesture, Naruto soon softened up to the touch after getting tense with the foreign touch of Sasuke. After Naruto had quieted down, Sasuke pulled back his hand and let it drop limply beside him; Sasuke went and pulled a fresh top over his head and went down stairs to wake Sakura and Ino up. Naruto got up and pulled his mask back over his face before followed Sasuke down stairs to greet the girls, Sasuke had already woken them up and they were now raiding Sasuke for answers to what they had seen earlier.

Sakura and Ino turned around as they felt the presence of another person; their eyes widened in shock, Ino was getting ready to faint while Sakura was absent-mindedly walking closer to Naruto and whispering his name under her breath.

"Naruto…" Sakura seemed to be in some sort of trance; her hands extended out and touched his mask and his warm face, she chewed her bottom lip before pulling down Naruto's mask to see the three marks that still were visible on his cheeks.

"Naruto…" Her voice sounded angry but tweaking with sadness, she raised her fists to whack Naruto over and over again… Naruto didn't stop her he knew it would be good for her to release her angry physically before talking this over.

Sakura's hands just pounded on his chest not inflicting any pain to the blonde at all "Why Naruto? Why, Why, Why!" Sakura had now begun crying into the blonde's shoulder, "Why did you leave Naruto…Why?" Naruto could only stroke her hair in a comforting manner, Sakura's hand got more limp until it was just a soft baby touch on his chest.

"Naruto…" Ino had finally spoken up "Why did you do it…?"

Naruto stayed quiet for a while so Ino asked again "Well?" Her voice sounded impatient, Sakura had quieted down so she could also hear Naruto's reply so now she was just making soft sniffling noises. Naruto eyes were fixed at his feet, he finally decided after a good 2-3 minutes how to explain it to the two girls.

"It was to save Konoha…" Naruto said his eyes not leaving his feet

"From what?" Sakura said, her head still laying on Naruto's chest

"A…Akatsuki…" Naruto looked off to the side avoiding everyone's gaze

"That makes no sense!" Sakura was unable to hold her rage in anymore, she pushed herself away from Naruto and was now staring at her feet, clenching and un-clenching her fists in rage "We can protect ourselves from Akatsuki and Orochimaru! Besides Orochimaru is dead that's half the threat gone!"

"No… He's not" Naruto said, his gaze still off to the side "He used someone else's body… most likely Kabuto… or some sound nin…"

"W-what…" Sakura and Ino stuttered in unison "B-but… we saw… he left Sasuke and he died…"

"Like I said… he's using someone else's body… believe me… I know" Naruto spoke in a reassuring tone

All this was happening so fast, Sakura's and Ino's worlds were spinning out of control; first they saw a person they _knew_ was dead for many years and now they realize that Orochimaru wasn't dead and was now planning to attack Konoha again? They felt like their world was turned upside down and in a whirlpool, they weren't quite sure what to think or to say at a moment like this… they thought… and hope that this moment would _never_… come into their lives.

"I think…" Ino started, grabbing everyone's attention "I think… Sakura and I need time to think about all that you've said…"

Naruto nodded "But… promise you wont tell anyone im here… I'd rather tell them in my own time…" Understanding Naruto Ino and Sakura nodded

"Well we'll be leaving now…" Sakura looked over at Ino who nodded and they walked out the door and left the Uchiha residence

Naruto looked over towards Sasuke who was sitting on the sofa in a crouched over position and staring at the floor, much like when Naruto had met him in his room. Naruto sat down beside Sasuke waiting for him to speak or move, they sat there in silence for a good long time because Naruto knew Sasuke needed time for his answer to the girls to sink into him as well. Sasuke began fidgeting with the hem of his shirt; Naruto figured this was going now where so he decided to talk.

"S-So… Uhh…" Naruto stammered, he couldn't think of anything to say so he left it at that

"When are you going to tell the others?" Sasuke questioned Naruto

"U-Uhh well…" Naruto began, Sasuke finally looked him in the eyes "I think… when I feel it's the right time… then I'll tell them"

"Good…" Sasuke ran a hand through his raven locks and sighed, he looked up at the clock; the time read 2:21

"Oi you bastard! Im hungry!!" Naruto whined holding his growling stomach

"Hn… Dobe" Sasuke got up and walked to the kitchen and he made Naruto and himself a belated lunch…

--_Night_—

Naruto and Sasuke had pretty much avoided each other for the rest of the day; Sasuke had important things to attend to so he had left Naruto in his house… alone… Naruto soon got bored of thinking over things in his mind so he went to watch the Uchiha's TV. Naruto was aimlessly flipping through channels until he had found something he liked but changed it at least 5 minutes after he had began watching it, Naruto had fallen asleep on the sofa, the remote was still in his grasp. Sasuke had come home at 10:13 to find Naruto sleeping peacefully on his sofa; all he could do was smirk at the sight. Sasuke picked up Naruto and to his surprise… Naruto was oddly light for his age…

_Must have something to do with faking his death… _Sasuke shrugged it off, but he would defiantly be questioning Naruto later about it…

Sasuke placed Naruto on his bed (not Sasuke's bed… you perv's…) and tucked his snoozing blonde in. Sakura thought Naruto looked innocent as he watched him sleep, he no longer looked like the tired, hungry, sad and misunderstood blonde Sasuke first saw him as, he looked sweet and innocent like he hadn't a care in the... world just like when Sasuke first met Naruto. Sasuke soon shook off all those feelings and emotions and headed in for the night himself, He carelessly through his clothes to a side and slipped down under his covers. He turned to one side to look at the large moon gazing in his windows; Sasuke let a soft smile play upon his lips before he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

OMG!!! What a crappy ending… AND OUKOKU HATSU YOU SOILED MY VIRGIN EYES WITH YOUR SASUNARU SMUTTINESS!!!!!! But I have to admit… they were utterly smexiful… (Cough) I didn't say that (innocent whistle) oh yeah… who ever reviews gets a puppy!! (Not literally of course)

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	5. Chapter 5

Ok… im a naughty-ickle-person… HAHA! Sowwie I've been veeery slow (cries) don't kill me!!! (Runs)  
**Please read Oukoku Hatsu's fanfic (its awesome….)**

**Disclaimer: **I own Naruto (just kidding… for those who don't understand sarcasm…) I DON'T OWN NARUTO

* * *

--_Previously_-- 

'_Must have something to do with faking his death…' Sasuke shrugged it off, but he would defiantly be questioning Naruto later about it…_

_Sasuke placed Naruto on his bed (not Sasuke's bed… you perv's…) and tucked his snoozing blonde in. Sasuke thought Naruto looked innocent as he watched him sleep, he no longer looked like the tired, hungry, sad and misunderstood blonde Sasuke first saw him as, he looked sweet and innocent like he hadn't a care in the... world just like when Sasuke first met Naruto. Sasuke soon shook off all those feelings and emotions and headed in for the night himself, He carelessly through his clothes to a side and slipped down under his covers. He turned to one side to look at the large moon gazing in his windows; Sasuke let a soft smile play upon his lips before he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

_

Sasuke's eye's fluttered open as the harsh sunlight seeped through his curtains; Sasuke pulled the covers to the one side and swung his legs over the edge of his bed, He rubbed his eyes in a very un-Uchiha manner and gave a small yawn. Sasuke grabbed out a pair of white shorts and a navy Uchiha shirt, Sasuke ruffled his hair making it at least look slightly decent in the presence of Naruto… Sasuke had a small flash back of when he was carrying the sleeping lug up the stairs, he remembered how light Naruto felt, yes today he would ask Naruto about it… Not like he was curious or anything…

Sasuke shuffled out of his room with a look on his face that spelt 'death' Sasuke was not a morning person, he walked down the hall but stopped in front of Naruto's room, Sasuke cringed to hear a loud snore erupted from behind the closed door; Sasuke marched into Naruto's room not noticing it had gone quiet. Sasuke was surprised to see him sleeping peacefully with no snoring… but another snore erupted, Sasuke sighed Naruto could really be random at times, Naruto snored again but this time it was a little softer.

"Hn" Sasuke's hand paused before he could grasp the door handle, a small whimper emitted from the blonde's mouth

"Hmm?" Sasuke mumbled, walking over to Naruto kneeling beside the low bed

"Nightmare…" Sasuke mumbled to himself, he was absent-mindedly soothing the young man by stroking his hair

Naruto's eyes were twitching in fear; the nightmare was starting to get to him… He broke out in a cold sweat of fear, Sasuke was still stroking him hair not really caring about his pride or the fact it was his best friend and rival's hair that he was stroking… he just felt like it was the right thing to do without making it look lovingly.

* * *

(Nightmare mode) 

"_Demon" Some one with their face in the shadows kicked a younger Naruto in the stomach before backing away into the shadows_

"_Monster!" A little girl about his age kicked his shin and laughed at him with her friends before fading away into the darkness_

_Naruto cringed and held his grazed shins closer to his bruised body, he wanted to cry… but the tears wouldn't fall, no matter how hard he was trying to get some sympathy from the cruel villagers. Naruto was now at least 12 – 13 years of age…_

"_Help… It hurts…" Naruto cried out softly, he voice wouldn't allow him to go any higher in his state_

_He was figures emerge from the darkness, they represented his so-called friends, they remembered how the had bad mouthed him and ridiculed him for fun and had turned their backs on him many times… even though some times he was with them were ok… nothing significant had really come out of the whole 'friendship' with them. All the figures faded into black, they all had glares and looks of scorn crossing their previous expressionless faces._

"_Please…" Naruto whimpered before curling into a little ball, the pain had grown much worse than before_

"_Loser…" another voice had appeared, it seemed deep and evil… and serious…_

_Naruto looked up to see onyx eyes… they were cold and harsh as they were glaring him down "You're a loser, you know that?" Sasuke hissed at him and turned around, his back facing Naruto…_

"_You'll always be dead-last, no matter how hard you try…" Sasuke soon became blurred; Naruto scrunched his eyes in order to make the vision look less blurred. When Naruto re-opened his eyes he gasped to see a horrific sight, it was defiantly Orochimaru… Orochimaru was holding Sasuke's cold, lifeless body in his hands… a look of fear and terror was clearly marked on Sasuke's pale face, blood was mixing with Sasuke's unshed tears before dripping down his face and into a small puddle on the floor._

"_No…" Naruto whispered, Orochimaru just smirked_

"_No!" Naruto screamed out, Orochimaru let out a beastly laugh at Naruto… he reached forward for Naruto and--

* * *

_

"Ah!" Naruto panted out as he jolted up, Sasuke had removed his hand on reflex when Naruto had moved

"Nightmare?" Sasuke simply asked, looking away from Naruto and over towards the door

"Y-yeah…" Naruto panted out, wiping off the cold sweat off his forehead

"Wanna talk about it?" Sasuke asked simply again still staring at the _very_ interesting door

"U-uhh…" Naruto stuttered, the image of Sasuke just kept running through his mind "No… I don't… im fine"

"Hn… ok then…" Sasuke said standing up and heading for the door again but Naruto hadn't budged

"Come on…" Sasuke whined, he didn't really want it to turn into a protest with that blonde

Naruto hesitated to move but answered anyway, "Yeah sure, and I'll even make it" Naruto ran a hand through his hair, letting a short, lone bang falling over his forehead

"Huh? You cook?" Sasuke choked out, he was defiantly surprised with this new information

"Well… Duh! Sasuke… and your supposed to be the smart one…" Naruto spoke very childishly like he was still twelve, Sasuke just rolled his eyes and smirked

"How did you learn?" Sasuke asked, walking back and talking a seat on the end of Naruto's bed

"Here and there… one of my jobs while I was…" Naruto stopped; Sasuke was confused about why he stopped all of a sudden but he soon continued, "…gone was being a chef, ya know…?"

Naruto seemed a little disorientated after his small break, Sasuke just gave a nod… not wanting to make the situation any worse than it seemed to have gotten, Naruto got up and left the room with Sasuke not too far behind

"You sit down I'll make the pancakes" Naruto said as he entered a very clean kitchen

"Pancakes?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows

"What? Never had pancakes?" Naruto joked, Sasuke glared harshly

"Of course I meant, you know how to cook them?" Sasuke sneered, now Naruto was returning his glare intensely

"Well it's so simple… even you could make them" Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the pathetic attempt at a death glare while Sasuke was particularly shocked at his come back

Sasuke just growled as Naruto let out a hearty laugh at him, Naruto walked into the kitchen and grabbed out bowls and the many ingredients. Sasuke was still waiting patiently in the room; he let his index finger tap the table's surface out of boredom. Naruto returned 6 minutes later with a pile of golden brown pancakes on a large plate; Naruto placed them down in front of him, and strangely Sasuke had looked over at Naruto expectantly.

"What? No honey?" Sasuke said sarcastically

Naruto couldn't help but smile, Sasuke had defiantly changed over the many years… he noticed he was a bit more open with his feelings and suggestions on things; while Naruto had been busy contemplating… Sasuke had already left for the honey, returned and was now drowning his pancakes in the sugary substance.

"Who would've thought the Uchiha likes… honey…?" Naruto's words slowed down as he watched him swallow a large spoonful of honey

"Hn" Sasuke practically inhaled the pancakes… drowned in honey mind you…

"Wow…" Naruto said, scoffing down another pancake

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke questioned, wiping the honey and crumbs away from his face with a napkin

"Nothing… Nothing…" Naruto said with a small and innocent smile playing on his lips

"Hn" Sasuke mumbled, he gathered up the dishes and placed them in the sink… he would worry about it later

"Naruto…" Sasuke mumbled, Naruto perked up

"Yeah?" Naruto leaned back on his seat and placed his arms over the back of it

"Im just wondering… because you worked as a chef… I mean… uhh…" Sasuke was getting muddled up he didn't want to seem to worried about it but didn't know how to say it… unfortunately he just blurted it out thoughtlessly "WHY ARE YOU SO THIN?!"

Sasuke clamped his hands over his mouth… he had _defiantly_ come on too strongly, Naruto was slightly taken back by the question but decided to answer is correctly "well… I didn't start cooking until I was 18… even then I barely had enough money to buy food…"

Sasuke had never thought of it like that it was… strange… but he accepted it, silence soon engulfed even the slightest sounds that included the birds chirping, the loud stomping... the opening of gates... the unmistakably voices………

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

"Huh?" Sasuke muttered, Naruto perked up he heard the loud knock and a chattering bunch outside

_Knock! Knock! Knock! _

"Oi! Uchiha open up!" The voice was unmistakably Kiba's

"K-Kiba-kun…" of course the stuttering soft voice was obviously sweet Hinata

"This is so… Troublesome…" Shikamaru said his trade-mark words "I don't believe he's here, Ino"

"He is! Right Sakura?" Ino yelled

"Right!" Sakura agreed

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

"Sasuke-kuuuun open up!" Sakura and Ino yelled in unison

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

The mini-feud outside his door was beginning to get annoying so Sasuke had begun to turn the knob

"_Fuck_!" Naruto cursed under his breath, hiding his face in his hands

"Wha--" Sasuke stammered as he was pushed back by the angry mob behind the door

"Where is he Uchiha?!" Kiba growled, grabbing him by his collar

"What the fuck, are you talking about?!" Sasuke yelled, clipping Kiba's chin with his fist, granting him and his collar freedom

"There Kiba!" Ino declared pointing over to Naruto; his bangs were covering his eyes

"Nar…uto…" They were all lost for words, Sakura looked uneasy about how Ino had blabbed about him being there, Hinata had tears welling in her white eyes, Kiba and Shikamaru were just standing there mouth agape

"Why! DID YOU LEAVE US YOU IDIOT?!?!" Kiba exploded at Naruto who hadn't seemed affected

"Why… you're asking me… 'Why'…?" Naruto started off with an intense glare set at Kiba

Kiba stayed silent so Naruto decided to continue, "It's because of you! I did this so you… all of you… EVERYONE!! WOULD BE SAFE FROM AKATSUKI AND WOULDN'T HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER ATTACK!" Naruto yelled at Kiba's face who was standing perfectly still, Hinata was now bawling her eyes out

"And… the least you could've done… was go to my _fake_… funeral…" Naruto turned his gaze away to the side and was looking down at the carpet

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata walked forward and reached out to plant a hand on his shoulder, but Naruto rudely walked away from it

"Im going to see Hokage!" and with that Naruto stormed out the door and was already half way to the Hokage's office

"Umm…" Sakura stuttered nervously

"This is all my fault… if I didn't give into gossiping then…" Ino stammered, she was on the verge of a massive breakdown

Everyone was affected by how Naruto had given them all the cold shoulder suddenly, even Sasuke was worried… Naruto had seemed un-affected by his past when he had met him… or when he was with him… why did he start now…?

"I better go see the dobe… Now out of my house" Sasuke began pushing all the intruders out the door ignoring the many protests

Now Sasuke was very… _very_… curious about Naruto…

* * *

Ok… Imma total shit-bag with this fanfic… im slow… and I can't stick to writing for more than 5 minutes… (cries) I hope you guys still read this… after what happened within the first chapters (cries more) and i hate the cruddy ending!!! (Bawling) 

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! Im getting quicker to update… sorta… im having less distractions!! But that also means less love for me… (Whimper) But also check out Oukoku Hatsu's Fanfic!! It's totally awesome!! YATTA!!! And if you don't… I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN LIKE THE DOGS YOU ARE!!! That's all (smile)

**Disclaimer: **Nah… I don't own Naruto and if I did would you really expect the owner to write SasuNaru FanFic's??

* * *

_--Previously--_

"_Naruto-kun…" Hinata walked forward and reached out to plant a hand on his shoulder, but Naruto rudely walked away from it_

"_Im going to see Hokage!" and with that Naruto stormed out the door and was already half way to the Hokage's office_

"_Umm…" Sakura stuttered nervously_

"_This is all my fault… if I didn't give into gossiping then…" Ino stammered, she was on the verge of a massive breakdown_

_Everyone was affected by how Naruto had given them all the cold shoulder suddenly, even Sasuke was worried… Naruto had seemed un-affected by his past when he had met him… or when he was with him… why did he start now…?_

"_I better go see the dobe… Now out of my house" Sasuke began pushing all the intruders out the door ignoring the many protests_

_Now Sasuke was very… very… curious about Naruto…

* * *

_

Sasuke was now on his way to the Hokage's office… of course he had ran back into his house and started changing desperately into his Anbu outfit and grabbed his mask before bounding off to the Hokage's office again. Sasuke was now walking at a very fast pace as he pushed past random strangers and fangirls who were trying to latch on to him, his pace began to slow down as he thought over how to question Naruto on how he had acted back at his house.

_Ok umm… Naruto… why… did… you… Urgh… This is harder than I thought… _Sasuke was deep in thought and was almost starting up a fight with his inner self (Haven't we all done that before??)

_Uhhh Naruto… no… **Naruto!** No… Naru-kun… ok… defiantly not that… _Sasuke growled out loud in anger

"God Dammit!" Sasuke stopped and yelled out loud, clutching his head in frustration

"Why is this so hard?!" Sasuke yelled to himself, banging his head on a wall

Wait… back up a bit here… wall? Sasuke lifted his head to notice he had been in such deep thought he didn't realize he was now outside the Hokage's door and banging his head loudly on the wall beside it, to say the least Sasuke almost shitted himself to see he was already there. He turned on his heel and began to walk off again, he needed more time to get the best explanation from Naruto without out rushing him or frightening him away.

"_What??!!_" A scream emitted from behind the Hokage's door, Sasuke swiftly turned around and planted his ear on the door to hear the conversation

"Lower the decibel's brat…" Hokage sneered, removing her hands from her ears

"But what do you mean, we have 6 days tops before Akatsuki arrives?!" Naruto yelled again but a little softer

"Many have informed me of this information… so it's no joke" Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples

"We'll have to prepare many for the attack… Naruto I want you to help also" Tsunade ordered, Naruto opened his mouth to protest but Tsunade butted in

"No 'buts' Brat! We need your strength to help us, yes we are strong but we know you've almost defeated Orochimaru before im sure you can do it now, Naruto!" Tsunade spoke with much authority, she had used Naruto's name to state she was serious

"Y… Yes Hokage…" Naruto hesitantly agreed and nodded

_Knock! Knock!_

A soft knock was sounded, Naruto and the Hokage both looked towards the door before Tsunade addressed for them to enter, Sasuke opened the door not making eye contact with any one… he closed the door behind him slowly, Tsunade knew it had to do something with Naruto and not herself.

"Yes, Sasuke?" the Hokage nodded in the dark-haired shinobi's direction

"Hokage-sama… I wish to speak with Naruto…" Sasuke still hadn't lifted his head "…alone…"

"Yes, I understand" She said and shooed the two boys out of her office

Naruto crossed his arms and turned his back to Sasuke, Sasuke eventually did the same thing except he wouldn't bother to cross his arms; a thick silence stopped even the littlest of sounds that were around the two shinobi, for all Sasuke knew Naruto could have fallen asleep… standing up…? Ok maybe not…

Naruto unfolded his arms and began to walk away from Sasuke, Sasuke heard the clacking of his shoes and turned around  
"Are you just going to leave and act like it never happened? …Well I'll tell you now it _did_ happen and you can't walk away from it"

Naruto stopped walking and turned his head around so he was only half looking at him "You would know, wouldn't you?"

"What?" Sasuke was slightly taken back by the tone of his voice, it was dark and unusual…

"You _always_ acted like that and now that im doing it, it's suddenly _bad_? What makes you so special?" Naruto hissed

"Naruto…" Sasuke growled deeply under his breath

Sasuke ran forward and pushed Naruto's back into the wall behind him, he held Naruto close by gripping on to his shirt collar. Naruto wouldn't look at him; Sasuke emitted a loud growl and whacked Naruto up against the wall.

"Look at me Naruto!" Sasuke ordered, but Naruto didn't turn to face him

"Bloody hell! Look at me!" He whacked Naruto up against the wall again, this time earning a growl from the blonde

Naruto abruptly turned his head and glared intensely at Sasuke "_Happy now?_"

"…No…" Sasuke admitted his grip getting looser

"Well I knew that was coming!" Naruto sneered turning his head away from Sasuke again

Sasuke grip tightened "I wont let you leave until you explain your attitude towards the others!"

"Why should I?!" Naruto growled, clawing at Sasuke's wrists "Let go!"

"No!" Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes at Naruto

"F-Fine!" Naruto tried to wiggle out of Sasuke grasp but resistance was futile

"I'll let you go after you tell me" Sasuke smirked, there was no way Naruto would get away without actually hitting Sasuke

"Well…" Naruto started and then bit his lip nervously, but still continued talking

"When I heard their voices… no… their foot-steps… all the bad memories… just came flooding back… I couldn't help but to be angry with them… But its not like I actually meant to get angry with them… I… just couldn't find out how to stop the bad memories and the nightmare…" Naruto trailed off into a whisper

"Nightmare? What does that have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked softly

"Well… the dream was about… all the terrible things that have happened to me… and how much you all hated and despised me… especially you…" Naruto trailed off again, it was becoming a small habit

"Me?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows as Naruto nodded

"Yeah… I don't know why… but I guess it's because how you hated me… and probably still do…" Naruto could feel like he was crying on the inside… but he would never let Sasuke see him cry now… and over this conversation

"I… I… didn't hate you… it just that… everyday… you could smile and be yourself… and no one would think of you differently… But you see… if I smiled, my reputation as an 'Uchiha' or… 'Ice prince' would be shattered… but you… you… could smile… and show your emotions… I was…" Sasuke trailed off, he didn't really want to say it but… if he did then this fight would be over with… "…Jealous…"

Naruto looked at him like he had two heads "a jealous Uchiha?" This defiantly freaked out Naruto

"Yeah" Sasuke stopped holding Naruto and let his arms drop limply beside him

"O-oh…" Naruto cautiously chewed his bottom lip

"So… what's up with Akatsuki…?" Sasuke hesitantly asked

"U-uh… we only have at least six days to prepare for their arrival with Orochimaru…" Naruto answered nervously

"I see…" Sasuke nodded and looked over at Naruto

"Lets go to Ichiraku's… my treat" Sasuke said, trying to lighten the mood

"S-sure!" Naruto said, wrapping an arm around Sasuke's neck "Lets go!"

Sasuke didn't want to… he knew Naruto would make fun of him… but he did it anyway… Sasuke gave Naruto a genuine smile, not a smirk… no hinting of sarcasm in it… just a normal genuine smile from him, Sasuke was surprised to see him smile back.

"Ya know Sasuke, you should smile more often… I like your smile" Naruto admitted a little embarrassed

"Aa…" Sasuke turned away, what Naruto said had touched him… he never thought about having a nice smile… nor did anyone ever tell him that  
_I guess that I was just afraid of what people would think of it… _Sasuke actually (and strangely) couldn't stop smiling…

Naruto removed his arm and gave Sasuke a playful punch on the shoulder "Come on, Lets go!"

"Sure…" Sasuke picked up his pace to catch up with Naruto

Naruto was humming as they walked along side each other to Ichiraku's, people walking by nearly screamed when they saw that Naruto was back, Naruto stopped humming and being cheery when he saw all the looks people were sending him.

'_Monster…_' a lady hissed under he breath to him, Naruto didn't let it get to him though

Naruto started up a conversation with Sasuke, there were hands gestures and laughter emitting from the two (Yes, Sasuke was laughing) they soon arrived at Ichiraku's and Naruto stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was there.

Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino, Chouji Lee, TenTen, Neji, Sakura, Hinata and Ino were there, they all turned to look at him and almost spat the food right out of their mouths and on to the person serving them, Even Neji was about to spit out his food was run up and hug him like he was a desperately lonely fan girl.

"Naruto!!" They all yelled out and latched on to him, tugging from side to side with hugs, even Neji was latching on to his arm before he realized what he was doing and jumped off him.

"Im so sorry Naruto!" Ino cried into his arm

"Me too Naruto!" Sakura whined into his other arm

"Yeah sorry for yelling at you Naruto…" Kiba said a little embarrassed

"No im sorry guys… it's my fault for getting angry…" Naruto admitted with a nervous smile

"Weren't you… dead…?" The people who Ino hadn't told asked in unison (Chouji, Shino, TenTen, Lee & Neji)

"Uhh…" Naruto didn't want to explain it… luckily Sasuke stepped in

"He'll explain it when he's ready, lets just eat" Sasuke sighed and sat down on a chair and Naruto sat down beside him

"Yeah, Let's!" Naruto agreed happily

"Oi! Old man! Gimme Miso!" Naruto said happily, the man turned around and dropped the bowl he was holding

"I-it can't be!" He stuttered, running back to get his order

"Umm…" Everyone was confused by the owner's actions… except Naruto, he obviously understood

They all had fun catching up with each-other, Naruto was still a little cautious with all the questions he was being given… but luckily for him Sasuke was their and always was stepping in when he thought he was in a bit of a pickle… Lee and Naruto had a great time talking to each other, as did Neji and Sasuke… Sakura or anyone wouldn't ever admit it out loud but they all knew and understood that Naruto wasn't the blonde bimbo he once was… he had grown into the perfect gentleman…

"Naruto…!" Naruto had obviously done something stupid, so they all yelled at him… but they did it while laughing…

Well… a somewhat gentleman…

* * *

Waaaaa!!! Im getting crappier and crappier everyday!!! Imagine me by year 2865?! Whoa… Ohhh well I hope u liked it… KYUU:3 (**P.S** shitty ending, i know)

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	7. Chapter 7

Yo!! Ok Sowwie If im slow im doing to FanFic's at once… and im also trying to keep updated with friends & family… AND SCHOOL ISN'T HELPING!! (Cries) why do I always cry?? YESH IMMA VAMPIRE!!! WOOO oh and please read Oukoku Hatsu's Fanfic!!! It's awesome!!! (Has had loads of sugar again)

**Disclaimer: **no I don't own Naruto… (Puts "owning Naruto" on Christmas list)

* * *

_--Previously--_

"_He'll explain it when he's ready, lets just eat" Sasuke sighed and sat down on a chair and Naruto sat down beside him_

"_Yeah, Let's!" Naruto agreed happily_

"_Oi! Old man! Gimme Miso!" Naruto said happily, the man turned around and dropped the bowl he was holding_

"_I-it can't be!" He stuttered, running back to get his order_

"_Umm…" Everyone was confused by the owner's actions… except Naruto, he obviously understood_

_They all had fun catching up with each-other, Naruto was still a little cautious with all the questions he was being given… but luckily for him Sasuke was their and always was stepping in when he thought he was in a bit of a pickle… Lee and Naruto had a great time talking to each other, as did Neji and Sasuke… Sakura or anyone wouldn't ever admit it out loud but they all knew and understood that Naruto wasn't the blonde bimbo he once was… he had grown into the perfect gentleman… _

"_Naruto…!" Naruto had obviously done something stupid, so they all yelled at him… but they did it while laughing…_

_Well… a somewhat gentleman…

* * *

_

"Im getting back to work" Sasuke sighed, paying for his ramen and saying his goodbyes. He left for the Anbu. (sorry if thats not right)

"Hey guys me and Sakura are going shopping!" Ino waved herself and Sakura off as the headed for the shops

One by one they all began to leave, Naruto left not soon after Sakura and Ino… he wanted to be alone for a while… not seeing any other reason to stay most people left after he did, until only Lee and TenTen were left.

"So… Wanna get a soda?" TenTen curiously asked Lee

"Yes!!" Lee boomed swinging TenTen off her feet and into another direction

**xXx**

Naruto walked through a partially light forest; the sunlight peered through the trees and glared into Naruto's eyes… It hurt… Naruto shielded his eyes from the harsh sunrays. He snuggled down besides a sloping tree for comfort, he thought over the previous actions of his morning… the time was now 1:30pm, Naruto had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach…

"I think…" Silence. Naruto stopped before clutching his stomach and continuing to talk to himself "…I think… I told them too early…"

The feeling… was it guilt…? No… Anger…? No… It was something… like remorse… (Wow… I didn't know I knew that word…)

Naruto clutched his stomach tighter; it was like fire was burning inside him… Naruto hissed as the pain only intensified, He was almost drawing blood as his blunt nails dug into his stomach. Naruto hissed again and fell forward on to the ground, the pain was like a fiery knife in his stomach that was trying to stab and burn through him.

"This… Isn't Remorse or the Kyuu…Bi" Naruto choked out, every second the pain seemed to only intensify and breathing was getting harder

"What is this…? Am I sick…?" Naruto's fingers ghosted over his curse seal, it was sensitive… it hurt to just brush his fingers over it while he was in this state

"Are you alright?" a soft, placid voice echoed through his ears

Naruto looked up to see brown eyes staring back at him; it was his old father-like figure Iruka, Naruto gasped and rapidly tried to cover his scars but Iruka had already seen them and was gaping at him. (Sorry if his eyes aren't brown!)

"N-Naruto…" Iruka stuttered to himself, Naruto gave a nod

Iruka rubbed his fingers slowly over Naruto soft and scarred cheeks, as if he would disappear out of pain sight. Naruto had completely forgotten about his searing pain in his stomach, tears formed in the corners of Iruka's eyes and spilled down his cheeks. Iruka's happiness soon turned into blind fury, he pulled Naruto by his collar so he was staring deep into his blue orbs.

"Why are you back? Your dead!!" Iruka yelled at him, hot tears of rage still running down his cheeks

"Iruka… I… I…" Naruto cleared his throat and started over "I… Never died… its me… im here… its not an illusion nor a ghost…"

Naruto spoke like a mature adult; Iruka couldn't believe it "B-but… your funeral…"

"Was a fake" Naruto finished for him with a sigh

Iruka let go of Naruto's shirt and fell backwards on to his backside; his hands were trembling in fear and shock, Naruto had betrayed him… not only faking his death but by not being aware of his whereabouts _or _that he had returned.

"Do… the others know…?" was the first thing Iruka asked after their large silence

"Yeah… Ino gossiped…" Naruto sighed, sadly

"You never wanted them to know?" Iruka asked, quite surprised

"Well… right now… it seems they knew far too soon…" Naruto mumbled, more to himself than Iruka "I wasn't meant to stay here… but Tsunade-baa-chan put me under the watchful eye of the Uchiha-bastard"

Iruka chuckled; _even though he has grown… he still has his childish instincts… _Iruka seemed to have spaced off, so Naruto was waiting (surprisingly) patiently for him to come back down to earth

"Iruka…" Naruto muttered into his ear, waving a hand in front of his face

"Ah—s-sorry… I kinda spaced off…" Iruka stammered with a nervous smile

Naruto just grinned at him "Its ok!" Naruto reassured

Iruka still felt like this was all a dream and he would be waking up any minute now… fortunately that moment never came, Naruto was really there… living and breathing… in the flesh.  
Iruka pulled Naruto into a tight embrace, fresh tears now running down his old tearstains

"Its… so good to see you again…" Iruka's voice cracked through his tears

Naruto patted Iruka's back for comfort "Its good to see you too Iruka…" Naruto could feel tear welling in his eyes but he wouldn't let them fall

Iruka pulled back and wiped away his tears; his eyes were slightly tinged with red. Iruka gave Naruto a warm smile, which Naruto kindly returned.

"Well I better get going…" Iruka sighed as he got up and dusted off the back of his pants and knees

"Ok, See you round!" Naruto waved Iruka off as he slowly disappeared into the forest mist

As soon as the unexpected meeting with Iruka was off of Naruto's mind the pain that was just a gentle numbness, was now burning him intensely again. Naruto hissed as he jumped to his feet and began pacing around the forest furiously looking for… something… he didn't know what… just something to help the burning… then he saw it, a small lake wasn't far away. Naruto picked up his pace; no matter how much cursing left his mouth or how much pain it caused him… he continued to run all the way to the lake, Naruto hastily pulled off his clothing and shoes before he slid into the freezing water.  
The water eased the fire in his stomach; he splashed the water on his face after he noticed he was being to get a slight fever, Naruto sighed happily as the burning subsided… he leapt out of the water his pulled his dry clothes over his damp body, making them cling to his body slightly.

"Mmm… I guess I'll just walk around aimlessly for a while…" Naruto mumbled to himself and began to walk around

"This forest is a lot bigger than I thought…" Naruto sighed, throwing his hands behind his head

Naruto walked around in any old direction for a good long time, he had that sick sense he was being followed when Naruto heard slight rustling came from bushes behind himself, on reaction; he grabbed a kunai and called out cautiously "Whose there? Come out!"

The rustling continued before a small girl, around the age of 9 or maybe 10 with long brunette hair and ruby red eyes appeared from behind the bush, she looked scared and frightened… only then did Naruto realize he was still holding his kunai in a menacing manner. He placed the kunai away and beckoned for the girl to come closer, the girl hesitantly came closer as Naruto knelt down to her height.

"Why are you out here little girl? It dangerous you know…" Naruto asked, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders

The girl nodded " I do… but… I got lost…" She mumbled to Naruto, worry tinting her words

"How?" Naruto questioned

"Well… I was chasing my puppy, Pochiko, and… I got… lost…" She sounded if she was about to break into tears "Could you help me get back home?"

Naruto smiled warmly to the girl and nodded "Sure I will, where do you live?"

"Ummm… north of here…" she began to get a bit braver while speaking with Naruto

"Ok come on!" Naruto stood up and grabbed her hand, he used his ninja instincts to find out which way was north

Silence had completely engulfed the two, the young girl tried her hardest to keep up at Naruto's pace or else he would start dragging her across the ground  
"So what's your name, little girl?"

"Its Mariko!" she said brightly, she left Naruto hand and was now smiled and bouncing beside him "What's yours, sir?"

"Its Naruto" He smiled at the bubble of joy known as Mariko

"You have a nice name Naruto-kun" She smiled brightly at Naruto who returned her smile with a grin

They continued to walk beside each other before a small runty house appeared from behind the trees; Naruto looked down at Mariko who was jumping up and down with happiness… this was obviously her house. A boy near Naruto's age was frantically running around the area, yelling inaudible words everywhere, Mariko piped up with a wave to him.

"Onii-chan!!" Mariko yelled out with a wave

"M-Mariko?!" the boy turned around, the boy's face brightened as he bounded over to Mariko and pulled her into an embrace  
"Baka! I thought I would never see you again!"

"Onii-chan im fine, thanks to Naruto-kun" Mariko gestured towards Naruto who was standing beside the two

The boy placed Mariko on the ground and looked into Naruto's blue eyes "Naruto?"

Naruto perked up as he heard his name "Y-yes?"

He stood up and bowed at Naruto "Thank you so much for finding Mariko… I… wouldn't have forgiven myself if I had lost her too…"

"Too?" Naruto questioned

"Ne, Naruto-kun wait! I have something I would like to give you!" Mariko squealed

"You don't have to…" Naruto was wasting his breath… Mariko was already too far away to hear him

"Im Yuuen by the way" Yuuen held out his hand and Naruto shook it with a smile

"Nice to meet you" Naruto smile faltered " If you don't mind me asking… what did you mean by 'too'?"

Yuuen sighed "well… you see… about 2 years ago… my mother and father died in an accident… orphaning me and Mariko…"

"O-oh… im sorry for asking…" Naruto felt guilt rush through him

"No, No don't worry… as long as Mariko is home and safe… I don't mind talking about this with you…" Yuuen replied confidently

"Naruto-kun!!" Mariko reappeared clutching something tight in her grasp "Here!"

"M-Mariko…" Naruto and Yuuen stuttered in unison as she presented Naruto with his gift

It was a long silver chain and off hung the bottom was a beautiful ruby red pendant; Mariko threw it over his head so it hung loosely around his neck. Naruto was lost for words; this gift was beautiful… he couldn't possibly allow the young girl to part with something so gorgeous, Naruto was about to protest when small hands clamped over his mouth.

"Please take it… so you can remember me, I would have died out there if it wasn't for you…" Mariko spoke very mature for a 9-year-old

"Mariko… I can't possibly…" Naruto mumbled from behind her hands

"Please… it would mean sooooo… much to me if you kept it" She stated with a smile, Naruto was about to protest to the girl again but the look in her eyes said she wouldn't take no for an answer

"Ok… Thank you very much Mariko-chan… it will defiantly remind me of your beautiful eyes" Naruto smiled as he ran a hand through her brunette hair and stared into her blood red eyes.

Mariko blushed and twirled her foot in the dirt "T-thank you…"

"No, Thank you" Naruto got up, smiled and nodded before turning on his heel and walking away

Mariko climbed on to her brother's shoulder and waved excitedly at Naruto "Please come visit us sometime!!"

"Im sure I will!!" Naruto grinned and waved back at them

"Make sure you do or Mariko will hunt you down" Yuuen smirked as Naruto sent him a playful glare

"Don't worry, I will… as soon as the mother-hen's lets me outside more often!" Naruto laughed, he was referring to Sasuke and Tsunade

"Mother… hen?" Mariko asked Yuuen, who just lifted his free shoulder in a half shrug

**xXx**

"Im back!" Naruto announced, expecting the Uchiha manor to be empty

"Do you know what time it is?" Sasuke appeared from the shadows of a wall and spoke in a warning tone

"Uhh… 10:22 pm… why do you ask?" Naruto spoke casually to the Uchiha

"10 fucking 22 P.M!!! Why are you back so late?!?!" Sasuke screamed at the blonde

"Gee Sasuke, you act as if you care…" Naruto smirked as he saw the Uchiha prodigy's cheeks flush

"Well, I need to look after you… Hokage's orders" Sasuke weaseled his way out of the truth (wink, wink, nudge, nudge get it:3)

"Sure… Bastard… Sure…" Naruto smirked again as he took off his shoes

"What's this?" Sasuke questioned almost choking the blonde by grabbing a hold of the pendant around his neck

"A girl gave it too me… after I helped her get back home" Naruto smiled, remembering the girl's glistening ruby orbs

"A girl, huh?" Sasuke said, letting the pendant fall on to Naruto's chest "Its nice…"

"… I know…" Naruto smiled again and headed up the stairs… no nightmares to night_… we hope…_

**xXx**

"The fake arrangements have been told" A sound nin announced to someone

"Perfect…" the man spoke in a spine shivering tone and licked his fangs "… tomorrow we move…"

* * *

LE GASP!!!! Who is that?!?!?! Heehee who ever doesn't know has brain damage… joking!! Or else I would have brain damage… (Un-bloody-likely) sorry if this took a while… its kinda long as well… and sorry if its really OOC (Cries) I tried my best Dammit!!! oh and i hope you like mah two OC's... Yuuen-kun and Mariko-chan... :3 

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	8. Chapter 8

Ok… first off… Naruto isn't evil!! Those people in the other chapter well…you'll have to wait and see what they were there for and all about… (Wink) Puh-lease!!! Read Oukoku Hatsu's fanfic!! It rocks this side of the world!! And over that side too!!! And too the left… and right… and so on and so forth… **everyone please thank Oukoku hatsu for helping me continue my story!!! She is a total lifesaver!!! She gave me the greatest idea to my story!! She rules the fanfic website (teary-eyed) **yes im over-reactive but I love it :D

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto… Sasuke would be making out with sweet lil' Naru-chan in every episode (innocent smile) so obviously I don't

* * *

_--Previously--_

"_Well, I need to look after you… Hokage's orders" Sasuke weaseled his way out of the truth (wink, wink, nudge, nudge get it:3)_

"_Sure… Bastard… Sure…" Naruto smirked again as he took off his shoes_

"_What's this?" Sasuke questioned almost choking the blonde by grabbing a hold of the pendant around his neck_

"_A girl gave it too me… after I helped her get back home" Naruto smiled, remembering the girl's glistening ruby orbs_

"_A girl, huh?" Sasuke said, letting the pendant fall on to Naruto's chest "Its nice…"_

"… _I know…" Naruto smiled again and headed up the stairs… no nightmares to night… we hope…_

**xXx**

"_The fake arrangements have been told" A sound nin announced to someone_

"_Perfect…" the man spoke in a spine shivering tone and licked his fangs "… tomorrow we move…"_

(Nightmare mode)

"_Welcome back, Teme…" Naruto weakly smiled to him, tears welled up in Sasuke's eyes but he wouldn't let them fall_

"_Come on Teme… remove that mask…" was all Naruto could whisper before loosing consciousness_

"_N-Naruto?" Sasuke stuttered crouching, down to Naruto's unconscious figure_

"_Naruto…" he noticed the large hole just below his ribs, they looked broken. He retracted his hand, as he was about to touch Naruto's face as if it would burn him. Naruto's words rang through his mind._

'Come on Teme… remove that mask…' 

"_Naruto!" Sasuke began sobbing loudly into Naruto's neck, tears flew freely down his cheeks and for once he didn't care._

_He didn't care about his reputation. The others beside him. His ambitions. Nothing it all blacked out, He just wanted Naruto alive and well again, to smile at him when he wouldn't give him the same treatment back._

'Remove… that mask…' 

(End Mode)

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled out loud, he jolted forward from the nightmare he was having

_Ever since… he came back… the same dreams keep haunting me… _Sasuke ran a hair through his sweaty hair, every day or night he would wake up from this nightmare in a cold sweat

Sasuke got up and entered the bathroom, turning on the water for a long and cold shower. Sasuke let the cold water trickle down his sore skin, training yesterday was harder then usual… they were all getting prepared for Orochimaru and Akatsuki's arrival. Sasuke quickly washed his hair and body (his oh so sexy body… :drool:)  
Sasuke wrapped a towel around his waist before going back into his room, he quickly got dressed into his Anbu uniform before going to wake the sleeping blonde. Sasuke quietly knocked on the door to only be greeted by silence; he entered the room to find Naruto sleeping silently…

"Naru--" Sasuke paused as he noticed the necklace was still around his neck as his hand was clutching the beautiful ruby-red pendant

Sasuke walked over and removed the necklace from around his neck; he placed it on the table that was conveniently placed beside Naruto's bed. Sasuke let his finger trace over the pendant, he grabbed the pendant and sat down on the floor as he continued to stare at it, harshly. Sasuke was ghosting his fingers over the beautifully red rock, But something screamed out to Sasuke evil and that he should dispose of the necklace now before something bad would happen, of course Sasuke knew Naruto would never… _ever_ forgive him for that.

"Something doesn't feel right…I… just don't know what…" Sasuke spoke a little too loudly causing Naruto to stir in his sleep

Sasuke, on reaction and shock, caused him to throw the necklace onto the table and jump into a standing position like nothing had ever happened. Naruto's sleepy blue eyes fluttered open only to stare at Sasuke, Naruto mumbled something too him inaudibly so Sasuke stepped in for a better listen.

"What? Speak louder dobe" Naruto stare turned into a soft glare as Sasuke spoke

"I said… what are you doing in here…" Naruto repeated, still in his sleepy state

"I came to wake you up, because you obviously can't do it yourself" Sasuke stated, his smirked widened

"Says you!" Naruto growled as he pushed Sasuke out of the way and headed for the bathroom and locked it behind him

"Hn" Sasuke walked down stairs and began to prepare a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, Sasuke had turned to cooking after Naruto had left… it seemed to get other things off his mind, like when he had a bad day and had cooked at least 50 cakes… well you understand… Naruto had just returned from the shower, he wore a pair of Sasuke's loose jeans and a black tank top, his necklace hung loosely around his neck and his hair was ruffled and still wet from the shower. Naruto had just returned in time to hear more profanity erupt from the Uchiha's lips, Naruto leaned casually up against a wall as he watched Sasuke with half-lidded eyes.

"And you kissed your mother with that mouth?" Naruto smirked and Sasuke growled

"And what about you?!" Sasuke sneered not even bothering to turn around "did you kiss _your_ mother with that mouth, huh?"

"Maybe you've forgotten… but I don't have a mother…" Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair

"Oh… right" Sasuke mumbled placing the last pancake on a plate "Here"

Sasuke shoved the plate into Naruto's hands and grabbed a large bottle of maple syrup and sat down at the table, Naruto placed the wobbling plate of pancakes carefully on the table. Sasuke dove into them like he hadn't eaten in months; Naruto just stared in awe at him… Sasuke finally gave in and asked, "What are you so shocked about?"

"I've never seen you… or _anyone_ eat so fast…" Naruto sighed and nibbled on a pancake before placing it back down "These are good…"

"But…?" Sasuke said, knowing that Naruto was going to say it himself

"But… im not that hungry…" Naruto sighed

"Naruto? Not Hungry?" Sasuke almost choked on his half eaten pancake "Never thought I'd see the day…"

"Ahaha… not funny teme…" Naruto said sarcastically, rolling his eyes

"Hn" Sasuke put away the plates and washed them, leaving Naruto alone in the room

Naruto was staring down at the beautifully sculpted rock that hung so carelessly around his neck, he couldn't help but smile at the look of it… but something told him otherwise… Naruto shook off those feelings an idly played with the pendant, Sasuke had returned but had decided not disturb his train of thoughts… Sasuke sat down on a chair and waited for Naruto to clear his head. Naruto's head snapped up and his once cold, blue eyes were now bright and lively.

"S-sorry did I space off just now…?" Naruto said slowly, he was still a little dazed

"Yeah Dobe, You did…" Sasuke smirked, he himself was acting childishly… that neither he nor no one could ignore

"Hn…" Naruto pouted and looked off to the side, Sasuke's smirk only widened

Naruto felt something surge through his body, it was like something was clawing at his insides and trying to free the Kyuubi. Naruto hissed in pain and Sasuke went into "mother-mode"

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked hovering over the blonde

"Y-yeah… " Naruto rubbed his own shoulders in a soothing manner "I-Im… gonna go out for a bit, k?"

Naruto didn't wait for Sasuke's reply; he had already headed out the door. Sasuke just sighed audibly and went to the Anbu.

_Naruto's been acting stranger than usual lately…_ Sasuke kicked a small rock that was near his foot

I… Hope he's all right… 

Sasuke's eyes narrowed _and that necklace… is strange… something's not right about it…_

_Naruto… please be alright…_

**xXx**

Naruto casually walked around where he had been yesterday, the forest… it seemed a lot colder now, but that's not what made Naruto worried… there was a feeling he couldn't shake off, it was a mixture between the feeling of being watched and the 'I have a bad feeling about this' feeling, He decided that the best things to do would be to sleep. Naruto curled up into a ball beside a tree trunk, the soft and soothing sounds from the wind whistling through the trees, Naruto's eyes gently closed as he feel into a small slumber.

'_They don't care for you…_' A dark voice echoed through Naruto's head as he slept, although he wasn't dreaming… it was real…

'_They will all get you… I know…_' Naruto's couldn't exactly pinpoint the voice he was hearing but it was familiar…

'_Don't worry… We all have to go sometime…But…_' the voice trailed off

'_But… if you join me… the scorn… neglect… the pain…_' The voice was becoming clearer to him

'_Will be revenge… all you have to do is…_' Naruto was hypnotized

'_Join me…_'

Naruto awoke from his seven-minute slumber with a dark look in his eyes, he shot up into a sitting position and twitched, the nightmare had terrified him but those last words rang through his head constantly.

"J-join him…?" Naruto asked himself, he held his head in his hands… they twitched with nervousness (is that a word…?)

"He's right…" Naruto lowered his head; he rested his arms on his knees and sighed

"All the scorn… neglect… pain… hurt… everything… it's all bottled up… I… I… hate it…" Naruto bangs covered his eyes giving him an evil presence

Naruto slowly rose to his feet, not bothering to lift his head "Revenge… I want it…"

Naruto trudged through the forest, his head was still lowered, he could feel an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach… the vibes the necklace was giving off had seemed to be reacting with the Kyuubi and the seal on his stomach. Naruto stopped and sat down; he traced his finger around the curse seal that was clearly marked on his stomach, Naruto hissed as another jolt of pain was sent into his stomach. Naruto licked his dry lips and swallowed his saliva… he was getting worried; he threw off the necklace and threw it into a small puddle beside him. Naruto shut his eyes closed and tried to clear his head, he rocked back and forth and kept repeating to himself "Im asleep… Im asleep…"

Naruto quickly jumped up and grabbed the necklace out of the puddle and threw it around his neck again, he held it close to his chest and massaged the ruby pendant absent-mindedly, "S-sorry…"

Another jolt surged through Naruto's body and down his spine; Naruto fell to the ground and clutched his head in pain, he screamed out in frustration, his eyes flickered from blue to red… his pupils turned from normal to slits. Naruto stopped clutching his head and stood up, an eerie silence carried through the forest as Naruto began to make his way back towards the Uchiha residence.

Passer-by's sent him glare and looks of hatred; Naruto could practically feel their glares burning holes in his back… A man who was walking past muttered 'you inhuman demon' under his breath, and in the split-second it took him to blink he was being pressed up against a wall with Naruto's hand clamped around his neck.

"_Inhuman_…? A Demon…?" Naruto muttered, his head stayed lowered not revealing his eyes "_An_ _Inhuman_ _Demon?!_"

People could only watch in horror as Naruto's claws dug into the sides of his neck, the person screamed out as Naruto's nailed buried into his flesh.

"You think I _wanted_ this?!" Naruto yelled at the man, shaking him from side to side

The man was to frightened to speak so Naruto continued, "You fucking bastards tortured me… and im bloody sick of it!"

The guy stuttered a few incoherent words as he tried to form a sentence, Naruto emitted an animalistic growl and let than man drop on to the ground, he had quickly scrambled to his feet and ran off screaming, clamping his neck harshly to stop the bleeding. Many people who understood everything that had been going on had ran away screaming after they had got back to their senses, Naruto snorted and continued walking back to the Uchiha's place.

"You're the ones who are inhuman… All you bitches will _die…!_"

**xXx**

Sasuke sighed before opening the door to his mansion, he had just been told they had two days until Orochimaru's arrival… apparently the information Tsunade received was corrupt and was all a lie… Sasuke growled and punched the wall closet to him; he had trained the Anbu and himself all day long. Sasuke's biceps, triceps and all his other –ceps hurt, he hissed and whined with every movement.

He would have never thought he would have to train himself 16 hours a day, nonstop… well he imagined it would be easier for himself but he was sadly mistaken… Sasuke threw his mask off to a side not caring where it seemed to land, he stretched his arms upwards and gave a small, muffled yawn from behind the back of his hand. He sighed and realized Naruto had not come into the hall to greet him.

"Naruto, you here?" Sasuke sighed and walked down a long hall

"Naruto…" Sasuke called out again, he flipped a switch that was on the wall

Pop 

The light bulb shattered when Sasuke turned it on "Shit…" Sasuke cursed under his breath "I guess, I didn't check _all_ the lights…"

Sasuke cringed as he walked over the tiny shards in the darkness, he quickly leaned up against a wall and pulled out a few of the petruding glass pieces, Sasuke continued walking down the many confusing hallways.

"Naruto, are you here?" Sasuke stopped as he felt himself approach the presence of some one else

"Naruto, is that you?" The moonlight illuminated Naruto's blonde hair, his head was lowered and he let out a grunt in reply

"Naruto… you had me worried there for a second, Dobe" Sasuke smirked, Naruto didn't reply, Sasuke walked closer

"Oi, Dobe…" Sasuke's smirk faltered, Naruto lifted his head up at Sasuke

The moonlight shifted to make Naruto's eyes glisten, Sasuke waited to see the sky blue orbs he loved so much but what he saw surprised him, Naruto's eyes were blood red… the Kyuubi red… his pupils were slits and had a distant look in them.

"N-Naruto?" Sasuke could say he was scared, but that would just be putting it lightly

Naruto stood up and took one step towards Sasuke "Uchiha…"

Sasuke took a few steps backwards as Naruto continued to approach him, Sasuke looked down to the pendant and it was now a black, Sasuke walked backwards until his came in contact with the wall behind him. Naruto continued to walk; Sasuke closed his eyes as he saw Naruto extend his arms towards himself.

Sasuke felt them being placed on his tense shoulders, Sasuke opened his eyes to see pleading blue orbs staring back at him… tears fell from the baby blue eyes and down his cheeks, crossing over the tear stains already marked on his cheeks.

"Naruto…?" Sasuke placed a hand on Naruto's cheek and wiped away falling tear

"Please Sasuke help me… Its--" Naruto stopped speaking

"What? Its what?" Sasuke yelled at Naruto shaking his shoulders, Naruto's face was facing the floor again

He forced Naruto's head up so he could look at him; Sasuke immediately pushed Naruto away and pressed his back up against the wall. Naruto's eyes were constantly flickering from a dark blue to a ruby red color, Sasuke didn't know why he was so frightened usually the Kyuubi wouldn't ever bother him But… some how this was different, the chakra seemed a lot stronger than usual.

"What's wrong?" was all Sasuke could muster up to say to Naruto

"Join… Him…" Naruto mumbled before falling unconscious into the Uchiha's arms

"Naruto…?" Sasuke shook his shoulders, but naruto wouldn't regain consciousness

"Naruto!!!!!"

* * *

I know, I know!!! Really shitty chapter, it went to fast and I hate it… I know I know!!! Don't hate me (Cries)

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	9. Chapter 9

Ok, Im sooooo sorry once again for the delay… but no-one seems to be reading this anymore… oh well… easy come, easy go (Sigh)  
Please read Oukoku Hatsu's Fanfiction: Never Forgiven

**Disclaimer: **Nope Still don't own it… (Cries)

* * *

_-- Previously --_

"_Naruto…?" Sasuke placed a hand on Naruto's cheek and wiped away falling tear_

"_Please Sasuke help me… Its--" Naruto stopped speaking_

"_What? Its what?" Sasuke yelled at Naruto shaking his shoulders, Naruto's face was facing the floor again_

_He forced Naruto's head up so he could look at him; Sasuke immediately pushed Naruto away and pressed his back up against the wall. Naruto's eyes were constantly flickering from a dark blue to a ruby red color, Sasuke didn't know why he was so frightened usually the Kyuubi wouldn't ever bother him But… some how this was different, the chakra seemed a lot stronger than usual._

"_What's wrong?" was all Sasuke could muster up to say to Naruto_

"_Join… Him…" Naruto mumbled before falling unconscious into the Uchiha's arms_

"_Naruto… Naruto!!!!!"

* * *

_

Sasuke shook Naruto's shoulders hoping he would wake up and tell him it was all just a joke… unfortunately for him… Naruto was truly unconscious…

"Your lucky, I care…" Sasuke hissed under his breath

Sasuke quickly scooped Naruto into his arms, he bolted out the door not even bothering to close it…he didn't under stand all these feelings he was getting but all he knew and that made sense was that he wanted Naruto, not to actually die this time. (Puh-lease! Like Naruto would die in _this_ fanfic!)

Sasuke ran through the streets of Konoha with Naruto in his grasp, Luckily Naruto was a lightweight so it was easier for Sasuke to run. He first thought of going to see Sakura, being the medical Nin she is, it would have been easier… but Sasuke knew that she would defiantly not be in the mood this late at night to study Naruto, He could practically hear her now complaining over that she doesn't have time to watch over Naruto and check his vital signs. So Sasuke continued to run down the streets until he had reached the Hokage's tower, As soon as it came into view, Sasuke picked up his paced and zoomed down the streets to the Hokage's tower.

Sasuke burst through the doors of the Hokage's office, insensibly jabbering off about things that happened to Naruto. Tsunade sighed angrily and slammed her hands down on her desk, stopping Sasuke in the middle of his sentence.

"Ok now explain to me in full sentences…" Tsunade lifted her head and gawked at the unconscious body in Sasuke's arms "what… happened… to… Na… Na…ruto…"

Sasuke bit his lip as he looked down to the unconscious young man in his arms, he waited for Tsunade to implode and begin yelling at Sasuke and wanting answers in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

"WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO TO HIM?!?!" oh yes… Tsunade was mad…

Sasuke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly "I didn't do anything… he fainted in…" Sasuke gulped and continued "…m-my… arms…"

"So he's unconscious…?" Tsunade asked and grabbed the boy from Sasuke's iron grasp

"Yes…" Sasuke said softly, he followed Tsunade out until she entered another room

Tsunade placed Naruto down on a vacant bed and began analyzing the unconscious young man, Sasuke stood patiently beside Naruto's bed waiting for the information Tsunade was going to give him. Naruto's eyes opened slightly, revealing dull and emotionless blue orbs; it pained Sasuke to see Naruto so emotionless and lifeless…

"Naruto… are you there…?" Sasuke spoke in the sweetest voice Tsunade had ever heard; she was shocked to say the least

Naruto didn't respond, he just continued to stare at the ceiling. Sasuke bite his lip so he wouldn't yell at the impotent blonde for an answer, Tsunade sighed and looked at Sasuke who was now staring intensely at her.

"I believe he is in an unwoken state, although he looks like he's awake he is asleep and can't be woken up…" Tsunade admitted grimly

"He will wake up… but in his own time…" Tsunade finished; Sasuke was lost for words "Sasuke?"

Sasuke perked up as he heard his name being addressed "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"If he wakes up… well, I would like the first thing he sees is to be you..." Tsunade stated and slouched down into a chair

"Why me?" Sasuke asked curiously

"I know that you're best friends and all--" Sasuke cut in before Tsunade could finish

"_Were!_ …Its in the past…" Sasuke said as he turned his gaze away for the Hokage, she was lost for words… were? What did he mean were?

"Naruto left us… lied to us… I know I did the same but… lying about if your dead or not is just too much!" Sasuke growled, slamming a fist down on to a table making the lamp rattle and the lampshade swing back and forth

"Do you know why he left…?" Tsunade cautiously asked

Sasuke quickly thought of this and began to remember all the things that had happened the previous days "Yes I do…"

"What did he say to you…?" Tsunade leaned forward in case he decided to mumble it

"He… said it was because he needed to protect Konoha… But he never said why he needed to protect us…" Sasuke let his bangs fall over his eyes, hiding all the emotions that were swirling around in his eyes

"Do you want to?" Tsunade said, leaning back in the chair and making herself comfortable

"What?" Sasuke didn't understand the question, Tsunade sighed and asked again but with a little more detail

"Do you want to know why Naruto left to protect Konoha?"

"Yes…" Sasuke was a bit unsure but none-the-less he wanted to know

"You know that Naruto is the Kyuubi, correct?" Tsunade asked flatly, she knew the answer but it was polite to ask

Sasuke nodded so Tsunade continued, "Well Akatsuki… and Orochimaru are after the Kyuubi… Naruto knew that it would be a lot safer for the village if he left us… as harsh as it may seem, we had to agree with him…"

"Then why… why did he come back?!" Sasuke growled, Tsunade sighed and rubbed her sore temples, she could feel a headache coming

"He had over-heard them talking and heard that they were planning on attacking us… he came over to warn us… and as you probably remember he didn't expect on staying too long…" Tsunade sighed

"Aa… I remember now…" Sasuke subconsciously bit his lip as he thought in silence

Tsunade quickly departed to give Sasuke sometime to stay with Naruto; she gave him the next day off to rest his worried and wore-out body. Sasuke sat back down on the chair, which he had leapt from in impulse when he was yelling; he hovered over the blonde's face waiting for him to wake up. Naruto's eyes were half-lidded, only showing half of his dull sapphire orbs, Sasuke brushed a few over-grown blonde bangs out of Naruto's eyes; Naruto's eyes soon closed as Sasuke decided rub his tanned forehead. Sasuke didn't know whether Naruto was awake or not, but he silently prayed that this was all a dream… and he would be waking up soon… of course even he knew… when you wish for a dream to be a dream… its usually reality… and everything that is happening is not fake.

"Naruto… Please wake up…" Sasuke actually whimpered into Naruto's ear

"Please…"

**xXx**

This room was dark and cold… the only essence of sounds was the footsteps of someone who was approaching the room and the subconscious tapping of someone's fingernail against a hard surface, the tapping had stopped when the person who had been walked had entered the room…

"Orochimaru-sama…" A young female missing Nin addressed the pale figure, walking to a halt as she saw his snake eyes flicker warning her not to step any closer

"Yes?" He purred through his fingers that held his chin up

"Konoha is now aware, should we begin?" she asked eagerly

"Hm… I suppose so… oh but you my dear can stay and watch" Orochimaru stood up and ran his hand through her brunette locks

"Watch?" She repeated, she didn't under stand what he had meant

"Yes… my dear watch, for Naruto-kun…" Orochimaru sat back down into his chair, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair and grasping his chin within his long fingers "…will be mine…"

He laughed out loud evilly as the young Nin joined him in laughing at the poor ninjas expense…

**xXx**

Tsunade slumped down into her large chair with a deep sigh; she continued to rub her temples as the headache only began to get worse, She memorized the necklace that was dangling from Naruto's neck. She had seen it somewhere before but not sure, maybe it belonged to a previous Hokage?? Maybe Naruto had shown her before?? Who knows… all she knew was that it had looked very familiar…

"Tsunade!!" Jiraiya panted out as he had burst through the door (almost breaking down the door in the process, mind you…)

"What is it…?" She asked not really caring about the worried voice he had

"Its Orochimaru and Akatsuki!!" Jiraiya yelled, grabbing her attention

"What?! Don't joke!" Tsunade was outraged, hoping this was all just a sick-joke he was playing

"No im not! Orochimaru have been closer than we thought, the information we received was fake!" Jiraiya growled

"Alert the Anbu! How close are they?!" Tsunade's rage subsided but she was now worried and panicking

"They are at least a day's off, TOPS!" Jiraiya had already sent out a message to the Anbu and they were now getting ready for a meeting

"Ok…" Tsunade paced around the room trying to calm herself down

**xXx**

Sasuke jolted up from his hunched over position at the sound over loud yelling and complaining from the other rooms, he identified the voices as Tsunade and Jiraiya. Sasuke crept around the corner, only hearing small parts of what they were yelling about.

"Orochimaru…"  
"How Close…?"  
"A day's off…"

Sasuke stepped into the conversation "Hokage-sama? Jiraiya?"

They both took a long stare at Sasuke before the Hokage spoke up, "Sasuke…"

Jiraiya decided that he would explain the situation to Sasuke "Sasuke we need you to collect all the Anbu quickly and tell them to meet us back here"

Sasuke was puzzled "Is this about… Orochimaru??"

"Yes, he is at least a day's off and we are going to need as much help as we can get to stop him, unfortunately Naruto is out so… this could be difficult…"

Sasuke ran a hand through his raven locks "But… what about--"

"Im sorry Sasuke, but you can't stay with Naruto, this is just too dangerous to not have our strongest person fighting…"

"Please Sasuke, hurry we don't have much time to prepare for Orochimaru's arrival!" Jiraiya sighed, Sasuke looked over towards the Hokage for some closure on this whole situation, Tsunade nodded in agreement to Jiraiya and that this was not some horrible prank.

Sasuke sighed and nodded, he would not deny his orders "Right…"

Sasuke turned around to take one last glance at Naruto, he would be sure this wouldn't be the last time he saw Naruto. Jiraiya gave him a small nudge, breaking him away from his many thoughts. Sasuke nodded as followed with Jiraiya at a fast pace as they went to fetch the other Anbu for the unscheduled meeting…

* * *

Ok… first off I would like too say sorry this is like sooooo short 'n' crappy and next is OMG WE HAVE AN AUDIENCE!!!! (Points to old man sitting in back row)

Old Man: I just came here for the free donuts…

Me: Shut up grandpa!! Or I'll put you in a home!!

Old Man: going into that home was _my_ decision!!

Me: (Gasps) Get out (Glare)

Old Man: You're a failure (leaves)

Me: Ok… now that we have that settled, if the mice that are nibbling on the donut crumbs could review... that would be great!!

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	10. Chapter 10

Ok… im sooooo sorry, im such a hobo!! (Cries in random corner) _Depression is eating me alive_… Mmm… Hobo chunks… (Drools and spaces off) ……………………………………………………………(Random audience member clicks fingers) DON'T TOUCH ME!!! Oh… this isn't the YMCA… (Backs away slowly)

**Disclaimer:** Those who have an I.Q over 1.1 (unlike me!) should know that… I DON'T OWN Naruto!!!

* * *

_-- Previously --_

_Sasuke was puzzled "Is this about… Orochimaru??"_

"_Yes, he is at least a day's off and we are going to need as much help as we can get to stop him, unfortunately Naruto is out so… this could be difficult…"_

_Sasuke ran a hand through his raven locks "But… what about--"_

"_Im sorry Sasuke, but you can't stay with Naruto, this is just too dangerous to not have our strongest person fighting…"_

"_Please Sasuke, hurry we don't have much time to prepare for Orochimaru's arrival!" Jiraiya sighed, Sasuke looked over towards the Hokage for some closure on this whole situation, Tsunade nodded in agreement to Jiraiya and that this was not some horrible prank._

_Sasuke sighed and nodded, he would not deny his orders "Right…"_

_Sasuke turned around to take one last glance at Naruto, he would be sure this wouldn't be the last time he saw Naruto. Jiraiya gave him a small nudge, breaking him away from his many thoughts. Sasuke nodded as followed with Jiraiya at a fast pace as they went to fetch the other Anbu for the unscheduled meeting…

* * *

_

Dark clouds had begun to encircle Konoha, the soft rumbling of thunder in the distant. Everyone on the streets had left for their homes, the sounds of bickering people trapped inside their homes and the whistling wind through the over-grown trees made it… well… a little unnerving…

Sensing a storm, Sasuke picked up his pace for the hall were they would begin to discuss their tactics for Orochimaru and Akatsuki's arrival. Along the way Sasuke had been following Jiraiya's orders, by finding the Anbu and ordering them to go. Jiraiya and Sasuke had gone separate ways in order to retrieve more Anbu that way, if anything that even looked a like a glimpse of an Anbu member Sasuke would have been over there in a flash to find out. Sasuke's pace slowed down as he approached the large doors of the hall, he pushed them open with great force causing a few Anbu to turn and look. Sasuke took a few looks around trying to wonder how many people had fitted into one small room… is was sort of like getting the fattest man in the world on one of those kiddie rides at Disneyland…

Sasuke looked to his side to see his old sensei and Gai having an animated conversation about… who knows what. Not to far away was Iruka happily having a conversation with a young and inexperienced Anbu, random Anbu were scattered around the rest of the room, some looking rather lost…

Something in the corner of his eye was waving back in forth in a comical fashion, curiosity got the better of him and forced him to glace over his shoulder. His lips couldn't help but quirk upward into a smile as he saw Ino, Shikamaru and Kiba all waving at him ((Well Shikamaru was sort of shrugging in the direction of Sasuke)). Sasuke smirked and walked over to all his old friends, they had all been good and bad times with them… but he couldn't imagine his life without them… thinking about that made him think back to Naruto and how much he had missed him…

"Sasuke-kun??" Ino asked, continuously waving in front of his face

"Hm?" Sasuke coolly replied, Ino playfully punched him in the shoulder and laughed

"You were like spacing off…" She rolled her eyes and turned them back over to Shikamaru

"Yeah, who would think _'The great Uchiha' _would space off?" Kiba howled sarcastically at the dark-haired shinobi

Sasuke shot him a death glare which made him want to retract his sentence… unfortunately Kiba was one who had a big ego… so that was highly unlikely to happen, So he turned around and grabbed Hinata by the waist and pulled her closer to himself. Hinata began to blush furiously and stutter incoherent words, they all laughed at her sweet innocence…

"U-Umm… Sasuke-kun…" Hinata whispered almost inaudibly, fidgeting with her fingers

"Hm?" Sasuke mumbled after a silent yawn

"W-well… you see… w-where is N-Naruto-kun…?" She stammered over her words incredulously

"Uhh… He's… sick…" Sasuke wasn't lying… but he wasn't telling the truth either… he just wasn't quiet sure how to put the whole situation into perspective…

"O-oh… Is he alright…?" She asked boldly, Sasuke bit his lip and chewed on it for a while

"I… don't know…" Everyone quirked an eyebrow at the Uchiha's statement "What?"

"How could you _not_ know? You two are practically inseparable…" Ino sighed, Chouji mumbled in agreement as he continued to snack on chips

"Hn" Sasuke flatly said, as he turned around to watch the Hokage approach the podium

Tsunade cleared her throat; Jiraiya was beside her after leaving Sasuke to gather some Anbu by himself and returning to discuss some matters with Tsunade, " Ok, I want you to all know that Orochimaru is closer than we had hoped…" Many gasps and whispers echoed throughout the room "Ok, Ok, now we need _all_ of you surrounding Konoha to protect us…" Everyone concentrated on every word that left the Hokage's lips

"You will all be assigned your positions, we must _not _let Orochimaru through, understand?" He tone of voice sent shivers up everyone's spines; they all gave a stern nod in agreement

**xXx**

The cold air from outside blew through the open window of Naruto's room, the trees outside whistled and leant from side to side from the harsh winds. Naruto's unconscious body lay still on the white sheets, only twitching as the cold air blew against his face here and there. A large gust of wind flew through the window making Naruto shiver furiously, the light curtain's movement slowed down as the air turned back into a freezing breeze.

The rumbling of the storm only had increased massively; although it was early in the morning… the storm said it would be a very long day ahead. Naruto flinched in his sleep, his fingers twitching from fright… his mouth gaping slightly… he continued to twitch as he entered another nightmare. His mouth slowly closed and turned into a thin line, his twitching fingers now were clenched into tight fists… everything hurt, but mostly his heart… Naruto bared his teeth and let out an animalistic growl as his eyes narrowed in anger.

This once happy boy… was now dark and cold hearted… 

_Silence replaced his cheerful laughter…_

_Darkness over taking the good inside…_

His knuckles began to turn white as the nightmare only intensified… Hot tears began to run down his face, as a single word left his lips…

"Orochimaru…"

**-- _Nightmare_** **--**

Naruto's eyes slowly crept open, he looked at all his surroundings… black… it was everywhere… no… not just black… it was darkness…  
Naruto turned around slowly, memorizing every inch of the cold place. Naruto took a few steps forward… his eyes kept concentrated on the path in front of him; the only sound was the uneven ragged breaths of Naruto and his hard shoes against the floor below him.

Pain erupted from Naruto's chest and surged through his body, Naruto clenched his hand in his shirt and started to claw at his chest trying to grab a hold of his heart, the pain intensified as he fell to his knees. The pain turned into a gentle numbness as he let out slow harsh pants, trying to regain his breath. Stifled sniffs rang through Naruto's ears… a little bit curious, he looked up to see a younger version of himself crying; bruised and bleeding… he took an unsteady step backwards as he remembered that day, with the villagers… he was a mere five-year old… it was his birthday… a day he took for granted…

Naruto reminisced on how those villagers had attacked him for being so cheery that day… Iruka would never tell him why the villagers had attacked him, only that they didn't understand the young blonde…

The young Naruto soon faded away… being replaced by memories of the day he was getting ready to graduate from the academy… and failed… how he heard everyone whispering about him and how they were glad that he had not passed. The looks of scorn, neglect… _hatred_… ran clearly through his mind as if it had happened only yesterday.

"Stop it!" Naruto shouted out at nothing, he cupped his ears and clenched his eyes closed, trying to forget everything…

Silence had engulfed the whole place… not even Naruto's breaths were loud enough to be heard… Naruto slowly rose to his feet and cracked one eye open to see his surroundings, it was him… before the day he had returned to Konoha… he was scared, frightened… ashamed… about how he just let them all, knowing that Orochimaru would attack them someday… no matter how far he tried to stay away…

"Whose there?" Naruto could sense something was around him, a loud snicker echoed around him

Naruto cautiously looked around him, fear rushing through his veins. The snicker turned into a full-blown laugh, Naruto cringed at the voice and hissed. Naruto stumbled back until his back came into contact with something hard; he abruptly turned around and narrowed his eyes in thought about what his back had just come into contact with. Naruto extended his arms and took a cautious step forward, moving his arms around to feeling something… feeling nothing he took another step forward… still nothing was touching his fingers. Naruto began to worry, was he going nuts? And where the hell was he?  
The laughter died down and his fear was replaced with curious relief…

_What was all that…? Where am I…?_

A light began to illuminate in the far corner, it was bright… and almost hypnotizing… Naruto took a few hesitated steps forward in the direction of the light. His small steps turned into faster steps which turned into fast paced running, the light got closer and brighter… before Naruto knew much he was already standing in the bright light, everything around him turned white and there was a warm… and happy feeling surrounding his body…

"Mmm…" Naruto sub-consciously purred out loud, the warmth was rather soothing…

Naruto's eyes widened as he took several miscounted steps backwards "No, No, No, No, No…" Naruto continued to chant as he forced himself not to listen to anything or do anything around him…

The lights faded out to black… Naruto opened his eyes and began to jump around slightly; he couldn't understand how it could all just stop… the warmth hard turned into a harsh cold breeze, Naruto closed his eyes slowly and began to walk backwards "Ok… Ok… im safe… if no one's here… then im safe… im… safe…" Naruto breathed out

Naruto's back once again came into contact with something hard, he ran his hands up and down the cold poles that were behind him. Running his hands from side to side he could feel that there was more than just a few poles…

Naruto walked forward and took a deep breath; _I won't turn around… I wont… _Naruto persuaded himself

A grunt and a breath of hot air ran across his neck and tickled it as it went… Naruto's blue eyes widened in realization… how could he have been so dense not to realize where he was… He wasn't scared to find out what was behind him any more… he was scared of _who_ was behind him…

Naruto slowly and forcefully made his body turn around to look behind him, Now all he had to do was open his eyes… he slowly cracked open his eyes only to find large red eyes staring at him, a large cloud of smoke was breathed out of it's nose and around Naruto, on reaction Naruto fell backwards. Naruto glared and let out a deep growl at the demon before him.

"_Kyuubi…_"

* * *

Ok, I know…! It's really, really awful and has no originality whatsoever… please don't ask me why Naruto was so scared of the Kyuubi… I haven't really figured that out yet… anyway… I hope it satisfies me readers… (Canary flies away) aww… he was the only one in my fan club…

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	11. Chapter 11

Ok… ok… im back… I've got an idea for a new fanfic but… im not sure yet… oh well; I better pay attention to this fanfic instead!!! SORRY FOR THE DELAY!!! I am sooooo bad at this…  
Please read Oukoku Hatsu's Story: Never Forgiven (coz if you don't, im gonna hunt you down and bash you with a toaster… DON'T THINK I WON'T!)

**Disclaimer:** Uhh… if I did own Naruto… it would have vast amounts of yaoi… but does Naruto have yaoi...? No… so I do not own Naruto

* * *

_-- Previously --_

_Naruto's back once again came into contact with something hard, he ran his hands up and down the cold poles that were behind him. Running his hands from side to side he could feel that there was more than just a few poles…_

_Naruto walked forward and took a deep breath; I won't turn around… I wont… Naruto persuaded himself_

_A grunt and a breath of hot air ran across his neck and tickled it as it went… Naruto's blue eyes widened in realization… how could he have been so dense not to realize where he was… He wasn't scared to find out what was behind him any more… he was scared of who was behind him…_

_Naruto slowly and forcefully made his body turn around to look behind him, Now all he had to do was open his eyes… he slowly cracked open his eyes only to find large red eyes staring at him, a large cloud of smoke was breathed out of it's nose and around Naruto, on reaction Naruto fell backwards. Naruto glared and let out a deep growl at the demon before him._

"Kyuubi…" 

Sasuke sat idly in the top of a tall tree; his eyes were glued on the scene in front of him. The Hokage had assigned him, Shikamaru and Lee to watch the gates. Shikamaru sat at least, four trees to the left of Sasuke while Lee sat near 2-3 trees to the right of him. Many Anbu were scattered all through the trees and near the gates, from the Hokage's orders. Sasuke's sharingan had been activated as he watched over the Konoha gates intensely, Lee's eyes were narrowed in concentration… he wasn't even sure if he was blinking.

"Anything yet?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes not even glancing in the Uchiha's direction

"…No…" Sasuke replied, taking a slow blink

Shikamaru's concentration flew back to where he was watching; he subconsciously licked his dry lips and swallowed hard. Sasuke leaped forward and grabbed a hold of another tree, Lee jumped another 6 tree's ahead of the two Anbu and he turned back and grinned at them.

"Hurry up my youthful pals!" Lee gave them another toothy grin (A.N: im sorry if I don't get Lee's character right…)

"Don't be stupid Lee…" Shikamaru and Sasuke spoke in unison as the both caught up to the shinobi

"Right!" Lee turned his attention back to gates, as did Sasuke and Shikamaru

Silence had engulfed the whole village; everything seemed to stop after Lee had said that last word. A light breeze carried away their regrets and sorrows, every thought… every sin… everything… just blew away with the wind. Sasuke thoughts drifted back to Naruto and how he was going, if he was all right or not…

'_Kyuubi…' _A strange voice echoed through Sasuke's skull

Sasuke was startled by the voice, almost loosing his grip on the tree. Shikamaru, Lee and some Anbu below them, all stared at Sasuke with raised eyebrows. It wasn't like the Uchiha to fall out of a tree… after all he _is_ the Anbu captain.

"You ok?" Shikamaru asked, worry tweaking his voice

"Y-yeah…" Sasuke hesitantly answered the brunette

"Did you see anyone?" the brunette shinobi asked the raven (A.N: is it just me… or does that sound strange/funny?)

Everyone continued to stare at the dark-haired shinobi, "No… I didn't… sorry…"

Shikamaru nodded and went back to his train of thoughts, as did everyone else. And then the eerie silence returned…

What was that about…? Shikamaru took a quick glance at the Uchiha prodigy before turning it straight back 

"Was it Orochimaru…?" Shikamaru spoke to himself, being inaudible for others to hear

Sasuke turned his head slightly to give Shikamaru a look that clearly said 'you better stop thinking about it now or I might "_accidentally"_ ram a Chidori through your face'. Shikamaru gave Sasuke a strange look but none-the-less threw those thoughts into the back of his mind for safekeeping…

A soft rumbling occurred, the clouds began to darken as tiny droplets of water sprinkled down among the Anbu. Everyone had cautiously looked up at the sky; well… everyone except Sasuke of course… he still kept watching the gates and anything further from it. Sasuke (and everyone) felt a large wave of chakra hit them as the all turned their attention into the direction of where it was coming from, Sasuke narrowed his eyes in thought and looked down as addressed to young Anbu. "You two!"

A girl with short pink hair and messy bangs looked up towards Sasuke "U-umm… Rika-chan… I think he's talking to us…"

"Hmm? Oh really?" Another girl with long violet hair looked up and blinked at him "are you talking to us?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes "Yes… im talking to you… I want you two to go and check out where that chakra came from, alright?"

Both girls looked at each other and then back at Sasuke and gave him a stern nod, they pulled their Anbu masks over their faces and performed a few hand signs in a matter of seconds they were gone in white puffs of smoke. Sasuke sighed audibly and turned his attention back to the gates. (A.N: sorry if I got that information wrong… I don't know if you have to use hand signs to do that…)

"Could it be Orochimaru?" Shikamaru asked, sparing a glance at the Uchiha

"It wasn't strong enough to be him… but maybe it was some missing Nin…" Sasuke spoke more to himself then Shikamaru, but Shikamaru understood him

Another wave of chakra hit them, obviously from the two Anbu sent over there. A crack of thunder echoed through the village as bolts of lightning appeared in the dark grey sky. Lee turned back and looked over at Sasuke and Shikamaru "The storm is getting worse, should we watch from ground level?"

Shikamaru sent Sasuke a look, Sasuke looked over at Lee and spoke "You two may, but I want to get a clear view of this…"

Lee and Shikamaru looked at each other and nodded, they both jumped from their positions and landed on the ground. Sasuke felt a chakra building from where the first two chakra waves had been emitted from, Sasuke's eyes widened as a blooding curdling scream echoed was emitted from behind the gates.

"Orochimaru!!" Sasuke yelled out as he watched two giant snakes appear, breaking down everything in their path.

**(Ok sorry if i got all that wrong, im not that familiar with Naruto and Orochimaru and yeah... sowwie)**

**xXx**

(Written to the song: Sweet Sacrifice – Evanescence)

Kyuubi let out a hollow laugh "…Brat…"

"I thought you… were…" Naruto narrowed his eyes and bit down on his tongue to stop himself from yelling

"…Gone? Oh… no… I wasn't gone… I was just apart of your unwanted thoughts…" Kyuubi said emotionlessly, his mind wandering to other issues

"Leave." Naruto stated, his angry tone not wavering in the least

"You brat… this is serious…" Kyuubi's large eyes narrowed down as he watched the expression on Naruto's disappear and being replaced by mild curiosity

"What's serious?" Naruto asked, folding his arms across his chest

"Hn…" Kyuubi was being to slowly disappear in a puff of smoke around him; Naruto was beginning to get impatient "Kyuubi!!" but he had already left him

Even though he would hate to admit it, he wanted to know what his inner demon was talking about. A hot breath ran across his neck again, Naruto -on reaction- turned around to stare deep into the demon's hypnotic eyes. Kyuubi was now in a small form, yet still quite large compared to a normal person. Naruto stared deep into its bloodthirsty eye's searching for his emotions; unfortunately his emotions were all being tangled together with his hate and bloodlust. "Kyuubi… what did you mean…?"

"Naruto…" Kyuubi addressed him politely, Naruto's eyes widened, Kyuubi rarely… if _ever_ addressed him by his name

"Yes?" Naruto took a step backwards as Kyuubi padded his foot forward, but not moving any further

"Someone's in here… messing with your mind…" Kyuubi admitted (A.N: No one messes with Naruto's mind except Kyuubi!!)

"What? What do you mean?!" Naruto was getting impatient and all these guessing games weren't helping…

"I--" Kyuubi stopped and disappeared

"Kyuubi? …Kyuubi?!" Naruto cautiously searched around for the fox

Kyuubi reappeared; he was sound asleep inside his cage. Naruto ran up to the bars and began trying to rattle them open; Kyuubi didn't even flinch at the excessive amount of noise the blonde was giving off, Kyuubi's massive tails banged against the cage as Naruto only got louder.

"_Bloody hell_, you fucking demon! Listen to me!!" Naruto thumped the bars harshly, leaving small indents all over them

Naruto panted out loudly, he sent harsh glares in the Kyuubi's direction… but he also felt a small bit of sympathy towards the large demon.  
_It… wasn't him… I can tell… someone else put him to sleep…_

"Correct Naruto-kun" a soft yet sinister voice rang through Naruto's ears

Naruto abruptly turned on his heel and fell over. A pale hand reached out to help his fallen state; Naruto slapped the hand away and scrambled backwards, pulling himself up with the help of Kyuubi's cage. They let their hand fall carelessly to the side of their tall figure; amusement and dominance were the emotions swirling around in their eyes. Naruto leaned back on the Kyuubi's cage and trembled under the watchful eye of his intruder.

"Why…?" was the only thing Naruto could ask, without raising his voice

Orochimaru let out a stifled laugh "sweet… innocent… Naruto-kun… you don't know why…?"

Naruto sent a pathetic attempt for a glare in Orochimaru's direction "What do you mean by that?" Naruto spat out

"I mean… how can you _not_ know…? After all…" Orochimaru took a few steps and suddenly appeared in front of Naruto in a flash "… this _is_… your mind…"

"My… mind…?" Naruto repeated, looking out at the darkness around him "What did you do?! What did you do to Kyuubi?!"

"Getting a bit worked up over the thing that cause you so much misery… why Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru purred out, brushing his long hair back behind his shoulders

"N-nani…?" Naruto choked out

Kyuubi's cage disappeared causing Naruto to fall over; he winced and rubbed his back after falling on his spine. Orochimaru crouched down beside Naruto, still being slightly paralyzed from the fall. Orochimaru brushed a few over-grown bangs out of Naruto's eyes; Naruto flinched back and shuffled away slightly before Orochimaru began to speak. "These people you call _friends_…"

His voice expressed his pure disgust for his friendships with the others "… they do not understand you…"

"T-they do…! They were there for me… I… protected them…" Naruto slowly responded to Orochimaru

"From what…? Yourself?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow for effect

"Y-yeah…" Naruto looked down at his hands; slowly clenching them until they turned into fists and his knuckles turned white

"No!" Naruto punched Orochimaru in the cheek; making him loose his balance and fall backwards

"You're trying to manipulate my mind!! _I wont fall for it!!_" Naruto yelled at the snake nin

Naruto jumped to his feet and began to run into the darkness, his eyes were closed… not wanting to see whether the snake-man had been following him or not. Naruto wiped away a few falling tears, his eyes now being slightly reddened from his unshed tears. Naruto continued to run, not knowing when or where he would stop. Naruto managed out a strangled cough as he ran, the saliva and flem mixing in the back of his throat causing him great discomfort. Naruto stopped running, he panted loudly as he placed his hand on his thighs for support. Naruto spat out what was caught in the back of his throat a few times before starting to run again.

Everything hurt, his heart, his eyes, his throat… everything… but mostly his pride. He allowed Orochimaru to almost manipulate him… Naruto felt horrible… like he had betrayed everyone he knew and cared about, like everyone was now turning their backs on him for running away from Konoha. Naruto grabbed his throat as it began to burn while he was running, lack of air was causing him intense pain in his chest and stomach.

"Why… Why…?" Naruto played those words over and over again in his head

Naruto finally collapsed to his knees, as his legs began to feel like jelly. Naruto fell on to his side; his breath was ragged and uneven as he let silent tears flow down his face. Every teardrop that crashed to the floor sounded like an earthquake in his ear, the burning in his throat began to go numb as he pushed himself up into a some-what sitting position. He sat on his knees and cried silently to himself, although no tears fell… Naruto knew he was crying… even if he wouldn't let it show…

His throat burned as he coughed out loudly, Naruto held his throat hoping for some sort of relief to this pain. He only began to cough more, his throat feeling as if it were bleeding on the inside, painful tears ran down Naruto face as his hand clenched tighter around his neck. Naruto leaked out of Naruto's mouth, now his throat really was bleeding on the inside. He wiped away the blood and began to take slow even breaths, the cold air stinging the inside of his throat. Naruto slowly laid down on to his side, his eyes slowly closing and blocking out any pain or any voices besides his own…

"Why… is this happening to me…? Is I-it… karma…?" Naruto scrunched his eyes shut and slowly re-opened them

"No… it's not karma… I did nothing bad…" Naruto muttered to himself, taking slow blinks

"Im… good… im a good… person…" Naruto let tears fall freely down his face; he hid his face in his fists trying to stop the tears

"Im… a good… good… p-person…" Naruto punched himself in the face, to stop him from crying…

"Good…? You think you're… good…?" a soft voice echoed from in front of Naruto

"Who?" Naruto looked up to only see darkness '_its just my imagination…_' Naruto muttered to himself

"Im not your imagination… Naruto…" a young man stepped out of the darkness

"No… …way…" was all Naruto could say, his eyes widened and his mouth gaped

"You're--"

* * *

Haha… cliffhanger :3 I love messing with peoples minds… **OH AND I AM SOOOOOO SORRY IF I GOT ALL THAT INFORMATION WRONG!!!! I REALLY AM, I STILL DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT NARUTO!!!! SORRY!!!!** And those two girls were my OC's just a heads up, they might make another appearance…

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	12. Chapter 12

Ok… Im sorry for the delay… school's starting again and, my teachers are gonna be all over me for my bad grades… (Ok so a 'B' isn't exactly bad…) Either way… I hope you enjoy this terrible chapter…

Disclaimer: Nope… Nope… I don't own Naruto… no matter how much I try… Naruto just can't see himself as a uke… (In her shame circle)

* * *

_-- Previously --_

"_Why… is this happening to me…? Is I-it… karma…?" Naruto scrunched his eyes shut and slowly re-opened them_

"_No… it's not karma… I did nothing bad…" Naruto muttered to himself, taking slow blinks_

"_Im… good… im a good… person…" Naruto let tears fall freely down his face; he hid his face in his fists trying to stop the tears_

"_Im… a good… good… p-person…" Naruto punched himself in the face, to stop him from crying…_

"_Good…? You think you're… good…?" a soft voice echoed from in front of Naruto_

"_Who?" Naruto looked up to only see darkness 'its just my imagination…' Naruto muttered to himself_

"_Im not your imagination… Naruto…" a young man stepped out of the darkness_

"_No… …way…" was all Naruto could say, his eyes widened and his mouth gaped_

"_You're--"

* * *

_

"Orochimaru…" Sasuke growled darkly, digging his fingers into the soft bark on the tree

Shikamaru was muttering under his breath about how the how thing was 'troublesome', Ino was on the ground watching in horror at how fast the snake-man's attack was happening, Hinata was acting strangely brave for someone so innocent… while Kiba was growling loudly as he clenched and unclenched his fists in anger. The rain continued to bucket over everyone making the whole forest hazy and making it hard to see everything. While everyone was asking the same question 'what's next…?' (A.N: sorry if you don't get what they mean by 'what's next')

Two identical screams echoed from where the snakes were, Sasuke immediately felt guilty for sending two young Anbu over there. Sasuke's sharingan showed that thousands of missing Nin, which were with Orochimaru, were rushing towards them. Sasuke licked his wet lips and swallowed harshly, the tension in the air was incredibly thick.

The Snakes Began to crush everything in their path. They were moving in fast, so they had to act quickly before the snakes would destroy all of Konoha! Sasuke brushed his wet and over-grown bangs backwards, some flopping back down over his face. He grunted for Shikamaru to break out of his lazy-thoughts and help him, Lee was busy gaping at everything in front of his face while the rest of the Anbu hadn't move an inch. Sasuke jumped down and swerved in and out between the stunned Anbu. They were shocked on how fast everything was happening, one minute there was nothing then two large chakra signals were sent their way… and now this? Everything was a bit to complicated to comprehend…

Every Anbu were silently watching the scene slowly unfold before them, the only one who had made any sign of movement was Sasuke. He began to run as he headed towards the giant snakes, he pulled down his mask and called out to the Anbu.

"Everyone, MOVE!" his words were harsh and demanding, but got the message across to every Anbu.

A loud battle cry sounded out loudly, echoing through nearly all of Konoha. Sasuke began pouncing forward, grabbing a few kunai and shuriken in between his fingers, he threw a kunai up in the air and caught gracefully in between his spare fingers, clenching it in his fist as he continued to run forwards. Many Anbu weren't far behind him luckily. He abruptly stopped and threw his kunai to his left; an ear-piercing scream rang through out the forest as a young sound Nin fell to his knees, the kunai piercing through his chest (heart).

In a matter of seconds, another loud battle-cry sounded out as a horde of missing Nin ran directly towards Konoha, pushing down or breaking anything that happened to cross their rampaging pathway. Sasuke threw his shuriken with an incredible amount of speed; one lodged itself in a Nin's kneecap while the others hit various spots on other shinobi. Although none had hit into any vital area's of the opposing ninja's. Sasuke leapt over them, stabbing his kunai into their side or chest's as he went. His goal was to reach Orochimaru.

Snarls and growls were emitting from both Anbu and the missing Nin, Sasuke ignored the blood that was splattering on his mask as he continued to wound and kill the Nin. Sasuke got a sudden nudge in his arm; he turned his head to the left to see Kiba and Shikamaru.

"We know where your going" Kiba said with a large grin on his face, as they continued to run

"Yeah… going by yourself with no help would be too troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed, not turning around to look at him (he's concentrating not being a jerk)

"Yeah--" Sasuke turned his head to the right to look at Ino and Sai "—it's stupid to go alone, I mean… look how many missing Nin there are!"

Ino said, slightly exasperated (A.N: I don't know if that's the right word for the way she's talking)

Sasuke nodded and shot a glance to Sai, who just sent him a smile and turned his attention back to the direction they were running. Sasuke let a soft smile play upon his lips, turning his head back he let himself whisper a small 'thank you…' it was almost inaudible, but they heard and were grateful for it.

They all stopped running at the sight of a wall of large and smug-looking ninja. They all had smirks plastered over their faces, their arms were crossed defensively in front of their chests giving off the impression of 'you just _try_ and get past us'

"They can't get through all of us…" one of the taller Nin's smirk widened as he spoke

Everything was silent between the two groups of shinobi; the only sound was the noise of the other Anbu members fighting with other missing Nin. A muffled laugh began to break through the silence, everyone looked around for the laugh… Only to realize it was Sasuke. His muffled laugh turned into loud laughter, making it echo through the whole forest. Everyone looked over towards Sasuke, whose laughter was starting to die down.

"Hey… can you believe them? I mean… they actually look… _confident_ that they're gonna win" Sasuke wiped away a few fake tears from laughing only to smirk from behind his mask (Bare with me people…)

Ino let a small giggle escape through her lips, while Kiba was laughing loudly as Sai and Shikamaru let a small chuckle through.

"Right… lets show them, what they're up against!" Kiba smirked as he pulled out three kunai

"Yeah!" Ino and Sai shouted in unison while pulling out a few shuriken and kunai

"Hn!" Sasuke had kunai and shuriken lacing his fingers

"This is _too_ troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed, placing a hand over his forehead

Kiba and Ino snorted a laugh at Shikamaru's reaction. Sasuke smirked and charged forwards into the mostly burly men, he shoved kunai's in their stomach's making them fall over in pain. The rest also began to fight along side the Uchiha, stabbing them and slicing their skin open.

'This is what it's like… to know you're cared for…' Sasuke whispered softly to himself, as more blood and rain splashed up over him

_My Friends…_

**xXx**

"You're…" Naruto trailed off, slowly pulling himself backwards "…You're…"

"Im who…?" He took another step forward as Naruto tried to stand up only falling back down out of fright; he extended his hand out to help

"Stay away from me!!" Naruto snorted, punching his hand away

"Oh…?" The young man tilted his head to the side, fake innocence running into his words

The young man fell to his knees in front of Naruto, a maniacal smile playing on his lips. He crawled closer to Naruto only to have him scramble further away. His smile only widened as he got on all fours and crawled over to him, he leaned in closer to brush a hew stray bangs out of Naruto's eyes, his smile softened into a small smile. "What's wrong? You look a little scared…"

"You're… You're…" Naruto continued to ramble out that one word

"Yes Naruto… Im You…" He smiled, showing off his pointed canines

"_No!!_" Naruto's voice echoed all around them "You're not me… You're…"

"…Yes…?" the young man raised an eyebrow

"_You're the fucking Kyuubi!!_" Naruto snarled, throwing a punch at him

The boy caught his fist in between his fingers, slowly pulling it down so he could look at him. Naruto threw his other fist, only to have that caught by him as well. The young boy shook his head in disappointment at Naruto.

"When he said you were stubborn… I didn't think he meant this stubborn…" the man's maniacal smile returned

Naruto growled and retracted his hands, only to tackle him to the ground, they rolled around on the floor trying to push each other beneath them.

"Why are you here?!" Naruto hissed as he pushed the boy on the floor

The young man rolled over, so Naruto was now beneath him "Why would I tell you?"

"Just get out!" Naruto yelled, rolling over again

"No!" The other threw Naruto down and sunk his claws into his arms

Naruto yelped in pain, kicking his legs upwards making the other fly across the room. The boy hit the floor with a sickening crunch, Naruto ran over and jumped on him, pinning his wrists above his head. Naruto stared down at the boy below him, his hair was a dirty blonde and was ruffled, his whisker-scars although much like Naruto's were thicker and his cheeks had traces of blood on them while his eye were a hellish red and his pupils were slits, he had two fuzzy fox-ears on either side of his head and a large fox tail. He was almost like a mirror image of Naruto when the Kyuubi would have taken over.

"Why are you here? Who are you?!" Naruto growled, beginning to make a fuss

The boy groaned and face Naruto "I am… you… and I am here to prove you wrong…"

"W-what…? Prove me wrong?" Naruto stammered, getting slightly confusing at the Kyuubi boy's choice of words

The fox boy pushed Naruto off him and skidded across the room, still keeping his blank face. He took slow blinks as they both continued to stare at each other, Naruto's eyes narrowed in hatred. He was beginning to dislike the silence between them. Naruto growled and slammed his hands on the floor, clenching into fists. Hatred began to bleed into his expression as he stared down the Kyuubi boy.

The evil looking boy stood up and dusted himself off, his expression never changing. " Tell Me Naruto…"

Naruto cringed at his tone of voice; it was sickly sweet "_What?_" Naruto spat out, his words dripping with venom

The other blonde cleared his throat and began again "Tell me Naruto… when everyone hated you… who was there for you…?"

Naruto cringed "What kind of question is _that?!_" Naruto's anger rising rapidly

"Answer it." The fox man replied coolly

"Wh--" the boy cut off Naruto from speaking

"Just._ Bloody_. Answer. It." He stated angrily

Naruto cringed, but decided against retorting. He pondered over all his thoughts, who was the one who had helped him out… when everyone ditched him… ridiculed him… _hurt him_. Naruto bit his lip as the other was starting to intimidate him, Naruto gulped audibly as he came to a scary yet sad realization. Naruto cleared his throat and finally answered

"It… was you… Kyuubi… and you…" Naruto was slightly ashamed to admit it, but it was true

"That's right…" The boy brushed his bangs back behind his fox-ears and smiled softly at him "…and _who_… was here to talk to you, when you had no-one…?"

"Kyuubi…" Naruto muttered, staring down at his hands

"Right again…" he slowly began to take steps closer to Naruto "And who _loves_ you… very… _very_… much…?"

Naruto swallowed his saliva; he pulled himself up and sat on his knees for comfort. His hands were laying lifelessly on his knees while he continued to ponder over the boy's last question. Naruto clenched his fists, his blunt nails began to dig harshly into the thin flesh on his palms, and blood began to trickle out of the corners of his hands from the harsh pressure he was causing. When the pain finally was realized, Naruto slowly unclenched his hands. His skin was punctured with small nail marks; crimson ooze was seeping out of them and disappearing into the dark floor.

"Answer me Naruto…" Naruto didn't need to turn around to figure out the demon boy was now sitting behind him, ready to pounce if he moved

"Is… I-it… you…?" Naruto mentally cursed at himself for stuttering

"Oh… you're smart…" The fox boy purred out

Naruto glanced around his shoulder to take a quick look at him; his over-grown bangs were messily covering his eyes. A small smirk was playing across his lips, his canine's glistening with a thin layer of saliva. Naruto turned his gaze back down at his hands; they had begun to shake… the reason for it… Naruto couldn't figure it out.

"Soon…" Naruto perked up when he heard the boy speak "…Soon… you will become what I am…"

"What?" Naruto began to twitch with fright '_what is he talking about…?'_

"Kyuubi and I… we want revenge… and since im your other half… doesn't that mean that _you _also want revenge…?" His tone was emotionless as every word left his lips

"You're right… Everything makes sense now…" Naruto whispered, his eyes narrowing

"Oh?" His voice now holding hidden amusement

"…Everyone treated me differently… for something I couldn't help… you… were the only one who understood me…" Naruto's voice was cracking, his eyes turning red from unshed tears

The Kyuubi boy circled his arms around Naruto's thin shoulders, placing his forehead on his shoulder. Naruto tensed at the demon's sudden touch, he didn't relax into it… it was strange having a monster hug you… giving him a strange uneasy feeling. The other's breath was uneven and deep, like it was hurting him to breath. "Exactly Naruto…"

Naruto felt the boy's head shift so it was now facing his neck, "Give into him…"

"Give in… to… who…?" Naruto 's voice was unsteady

"…Orochimaru…"

* * *

Ok… Ok… I HATE, HATE, **HATE **this chapter sooooo much!! Im terrible at fight scenes… and I think I went to fast… tell me what I should improve for the next chapter please!!! **AND IM SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE SOONER MY COMP WENT ALL SKITZO ON ME!! **(Still in her shame circle) 

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	13. Chapter 13

Ah!!! Im back with a sloppy new chapter!! Urgh… this is what I get for staying up late and sleeping in until 12pm… Man I suck… (Sits in her shame triangle) mmm… triangle…

**Please read my good friend's, Oukoku Hatsu, story: Never Forgiven**

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I don't own Naruto… It owns me!!! Mwuhahahahaha… …(Cough) (Still in her shame triangle)

* * *

_-- Previously --_

"_Kyuubi and I… we want revenge… and since im your other half… doesn't that mean that you also want revenge…?" His tone was emotionless as every word left his lips_

"_You're right… Everything makes sense now…" Naruto whispered, his eyes narrowing_

"_Oh?" His voice now holding hidden amusement_

"…_Everyone treated me differently… for something I couldn't help… you… were the only one who understood me…" Naruto's voice was cracking, his eyes turning red from unshed tears_

_The Kyuubi boy circled his arms around Naruto's thin shoulders, placing his forehead on his shoulder. Naruto tensed at the demon's sudden touch, he didn't relax into it… it was strange having a monster hug you… giving him a strange uneasy feeling. The other's breath was uneven and deep, like it was hurting him to breath. "Exactly Naruto…"_

_Naruto felt the boy's head shift so it was now facing his neck, "Give into him…"_

"_Give in… to… who…?" Naruto voice was unsteady_

"…_Orochimaru…"

* * *

_

A young female shinobi and Orochimaru eagerly watched over Konoha, it was dark and raining… the perfect weather for such a grim day. The young female Nin had long brunette hair and mismatched eyes, one a beautiful orange color and the other was gorgeous purple. She wore black hobo-gloves with a long fishnet glove underneath and sound headband was tied loosely around her neck. She turned on her heel and began to head for the door when his voice stopped her.

"Freya-san…" Orochimaru asked, still watching his evil reign over Konoha

"H-hai, Orochimaru-sama…?" She asked a bit uneasily, rubbing her half-gloved hand down her long brunette hair (A.N: She was the female Nin with Orochimaru in chap. 9)

"You wouldn't be… _leaving_ us now would you…?" Orochimaru turned his head to smile at her

"O-of course not… I am very loyal to Orochimaru-sama!" she sent him a nervous smile

"Oh? My mistake… then where _are_ you going…?" Orochimaru turned his attention back to Konoha

"I was thinking… A-about helping out… you know! Uhh… the other ninja… yeah…" She stammered, making wild hand gestures

"Why would you do that…? When I allowed you to stay here?" Orochimaru turned his head around again, peeking around the corner of his chair

"Uhh… well… there are a lot of Anbu--" Orochimaru cut her off

"--_And_… there are more of us…" Orochimaru kept a stern gaze on her

"T-true... true… ah… but… I want to help… too…!" She swayed innocently from side to side as each uncalculated word left her lips

"Oh?" Orochimaru asked in playful tone, standing up from his seat

"Yeah! So I'll be leaving now…" She smiled and grasped the door handle, only to have the door slam shut right in front of her face

"Do you really think im so dense?" Orochimaru purred into her ear

"N-no! Of course not Orochimaru-sama!" She said with a confident smile, Orochimaru saw through it

"I think you do…" he wrapped his arms around her thin shoulders and smiled

"No… No… I don't… now please…" Her hand planted itself on the doorknob

"Don't be foolish!" Orochimaru's arms slipped up and tightened around her neck

He pulled her backwards, choking her even more. He stood up to his full height, lifting the small Freya off her feet. They dangled in the air swaying back and forth gently as an attempt to kick him. "Shh…" He cooed her to stop making a ruckus. Her breath was hitched from lack of oxygen and her face paling from the lack of much needed air.

He let her go, sending her to the floor. She held her neck and winced as she took sharp breaths. Orochimaru crouched down slowly to her fallen figure, she took in a deep breath and glared intensely at him "How did you know?"

"That you were going to help Konoha…? Well…" He grasped her chin and stared into her mismatched eyes "…your eyes are beautiful… but a _dead_ give away my dear…"

"…Shit…" She lowered her head in shame, knowing her eyes would be the death of her some day

He grasped her wrist tightly making his nails dig deep into her flesh. She cringed as he began to walk, lifting her feet in the air and occasionally making them scrape across the floor. Freya squeaked loudly as her back hit into a hard metal wall, a sickening crunch echoed all around her. By the way it echoed she suspected she was in some kind of room. She slowly cracked her purple left eye open, to see Orochimaru staring down at her with a smirk plastered on his face.

She growled and unsteadily stood up; clutching the arms she had fell on. "Why you…" She growled out, her right eye was closed tightly as pain jolted through her body.

"I will let you live… for now that is… I could get some very good information on Konoha from you…" Orochimaru's smirk widened

He slowly turned around and began to close the door; Freya ran up to it and slammed herself into just as it closed. She ignored the pain being sent through her whole body; she continually began to slam her fists down onto the large metal door, She slammed her fists down harshly on the door "Orochimaru-sama!!!" She screeched in pure rage. She unclenched her fists and began to slap the door –it hurt more and made less sound, but she didn't care at the moment- "Orochimaru-sama!!!"

"Open this door!!!" She slammed her right fist down harshly on the door

She could tell a seal was on the door, making it even harder to escape. "Orochimaru-sama…" it was obvious he wasn't there or even close to the door "Please… open… the…" She slid her small body down the door; she rubbed her hands separately to help ease the pain "…the door…"

She swallowed her saliva and rubbed her neck, cracking it from side to side. "There must be some kind of jutsu to help me…"

She began to ponder over all the possible jutsu that could break the seal and help her escape.  
Silence began to drown out every thing; her soft breaths were incredibly quiet… the only thing that broke the silence was as she let one last sentence escape her lips before wandering back into her mind, hoping to find out a jutsu to save her and Konoha…

"…Heaven… help us…" (A.N: Writers block… Sowwie)

**xXx**

"Sasuke!" Kiba hollered out, trying to hold his ground as a bunch of bulky men tried to tackle him

"What?" He shouted back, throwing a kunai at any target

"Go! We can handle them, you need to find Orochimaru and stop all this…" Kiba hissed as another man joined the ever-growing pile trying to bring down Kiba

"But…" Sasuke actually sounded a bit uneasy

"He's right! Go!" Ino agreed, stabbing some random Nin in the chest

"There's too many! I have too help--" Sai interrupted him

"Don't be stupid! You're the only one that can stop him!" Sai shouted, throwing shuriken in random directions

Sasuke was slightly taken back by his outburst "Sai… You… agree with them…?"

"Of course!" He sent Sasuke a smile and turned to stab another sound Nin

"You're too troublesome sometimes…" Shikamaru sighed, lazily injuring a Nin's arm

"You… all…" Sasuke stopped himself from continuing that sentence "Right!"

Sasuke quickly stabbed an oncoming missing Nin; he leapt into the tall trees that were craning over the many fights. Sasuke jumped down, being only slightly scratched by the branches surrounding him. He slammed a kunai deep into a Nin's skull, who unfortunately had been standing right underneath him. Blood sprayed up and sprinkled over his mask, tainting it with the horrible smell of the man's pure blood…

Sasuke whipped the dark crimson blood abruptly off his mask, letting it slowly drip off his fingertips. Corpses and injured shinobi were littered all over the fields. The foul stench of death reached Sasuke's nose, he cringed and took a step backwards as he covered his nose with his hands. The smell was terrible… Memories of his family's massacre flooded back to him, remembering the putrid smell of blood and death… a pang in his chest signaled that he was being to remember too much…

Sasuke quickly shook off those feelings and looked backwards, Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Sai and many other Anbu members were busy fighting. Sasuke swallowed down all this last regrets and ran in the opposite direction, away from the fights and massacres.

Blood and rain was flooding the grounds, Sasuke watched as Kiba sliced open a Nin's skin with a shuriken. He seemed to be a little off; Sasuke glanced over to the left of Kiba only to notice Hinata, she was incredibly strong for someone so innocent. Sasuke smiled, Kiba was keeping an eye on Hinata, incase she would get hurt.

Sasuke licked his slippery lips and with one last regret, he ran off into the direction where many more oncoming shinobi were heading. He re-activated his sharingan and swiftly dodged every Nin… his training with Orochimaru may have not been a total waste after all… Sasuke's uncovered arms were covered in minor cuts and scratches as the rest of his body seemed to be in mint condition.

Sasuke's mind eventually wandered back to Naruto… How was he going? Was he ok by himself? What if he had woken up already? Would he be missing Sasuke?

Sasuke stopped suddenly, the last question really got to him… Would Naruto be missing him right now? Sasuke shook his head and smirked inwardly towards himself "…Baka… I shouldn't be thinking those things at a time like this… But still--"

A rustle in a nearby tree, alerted Sasuke of danger. Sasuke abruptly turned around and stared off in the direction as his sharingan spun wildly. Sasuke growled and took a menacing step forward, planting his foot defensively in the thick mud. "Kabuto…"

"My Sasuke… You have grown…" Sasuke looked up to find Kabuto resting on a high branch "…At times like this I wonder… what would you be like with out Orochimaru's help…" (A.N: Sorry… im not sure if he calls him "Sasuke-san, Sasuke-kun" or if he says "Orochimaru-sama")

"I believe I would be better… All Orochimaru did was make life harder!" Sasuke sneered, crossing his arms over his chest as anger laced his words

"I wouldn't say that…" Kabuto leapt of the branch and landed softly in front of Sasuke

"Hn" Sasuke smirked, and pulled out a huge shuriken "Ladies first…"

Kabuto smirked at the comment but none-the-less attacked him first. Sasuke quickly dodged his fist; he swung his legs around to knock him off his feet. Kabuto leaped backwards and began to charge forward at Sasuke, a kunai ready in his hand. Sasuke threw his arm backwards and then forwards, releasing the giant shuriken. It spun wildly toward Kabuto, who continued running forwards, Kabuto jumped high and flipped over the fast shuriken. Sasuke was at a loss for words… Kabuto was moving exceptionally fast. Sasuke came back to reality as a sharp pain began to throb on the left side of his face; he fell to the ground but quickly jumped back up. He wiped away the slowly leaking blood that was dribbling down his chin.

"Hn…" Sasuke smirked and wiped the blood on to his dark pants

Sasuke quickly dodged Kabuto's legs and ran over to the shuriken, he quickly dislodged it from a thick tree. He smoothed his long wet bangs backwards and threw his shuriken again, except with more force and it was spinning at a faster speed. Kabuto jumped to a side; fortunately the shuriken had slashed the side of his leg, now leaving a large gaping wound. Kabuto winced as the cold rain ran over his fresh wound.

Sasuke smirked as his inner cheered for wounding that horrible snake-man's friend; Sasuke took a short step forward but stopped halfway as a noise was beginning to emit from Kabuto. Only then did Sasuke realize that he was laughing at him… mocking him. Sasuke growled as Kabuto's laughter only became louder. Sasuke slowly walked forward, his anger only intensifying, he threw his fist and it came into contact with Kabuto's head.

Kabuto barely flinched at the harsh hit; Sasuke slowly removed his hand from his face, letting it drop limply beside him. Kabuto's laugh turned into a small chuckle as he spoke up "why Sasuke… Why are you fighting _me?_"

"Because, I want you _**dead!**_"Sasuke didn't dare to hide his anger; venom seeped dangerously into his words

"But…" Kabuto looked up at him, smiling wildly "…I would think I was the _last_… of your worries…"

"Im going to Orochimaru after your dead!" Sasuke snarled, clenching his fists tightly

"No… No. Not even he… is the most of your worries right now…" Kabuto stood up and dusted off his pants

"N-nani…?" (Translation: What?)

**xXx**

"Why… Why should I join him…?" Naruto growled, pulling away from the Kyuubi boy

"He understands you… He will give you everything you want…" The young Demon crossed his legs and rested his arm on his knee and placed his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Really? …You're not lying?" Naruto stared strangely at him after he spoke

"Why would I be…? This _is_ the best for both of us…" The other smiled, showing off his sharpened canines

"But… He took Sasuke…" Naruto felt like crying at the memory

"So…? Don't you think you should return the favor to Sasuke?" he raised his eyebrows at Naruto, who continued to stare at him

"Yeah… Ok." Naruto turned his whole body around to watch the demon boy

The Kyuubi boy rested his hands on the floor behind him and leaned backwards, he tilted his head to the right and grinned as he closed his eyes. Naruto walked over and sat down in front of the demon. The demon innocently looked at Naruto "Nani?"

Naruto lowered his head "Im Sorry…" His voice was barely audible

"Pardon…" Fake innocence laced his words, if being serious wasn't helping… maybe acting sweet would

"Im Sorry…" His voice was getting louder "Im sorry… I never trusted you…"

"Oh?" he tilted his head to the left and blinked cutely

"But now… I realize… you were my _only_ true friend…" Naruto smiled at the boy who smiled back

"That's right!" His fangs grew longer, Naruto didn't notice…

Naruto fell on to his backside, hugging his legs close to his body and resting his forehead on his knees. Naruto buried his head further, he began to reminisce all the horrible memories… he tried his hardest to stop them, but they wouldn't stop over-flooding his mind with pain and silent torture. Naruto grabbed his head and winced, the memories were burning his head giving him a migraine.

"Naruto…?" The Kyuubi called out, shaking his shoulder

Naruto quickly flew back to reality "What?"

"Sasuke betrayed Orochimaru… you know that don't you?" The demon asked, his lifeless eyes staring deep into Naruto's blue orbs

"Yes… what about it?" Naruto questioned, his eyes turning dull

"Orochimaru… will take care of you… let you get revenge… and give you anything your heart desires… if…" Kyuubi spoke with much authority towards Naruto

"If…?" Naruto repeated, leaning in closer

"If… you kill… Sasuke…"

* * *

Mwuhahahahaha… oh I give up!!! Im terrible!! Im totally depressed about my shitty comp!!! On the bright side (yes, strangely there is a bright side to this…) I'm getting a few days off… so I will try my hardest to at least finish another good chapter of this by two days! Lol… another of my OC… Freya… Lol… She's an undercover Nin… Lol… I like her… Lol… I'll shut up now :D

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	14. Chapter 14

Ok… I know I said two days… but this is four days… ok… well enjoy this chapter anyways:3

**Please read my good friend's -Oukoku Hatsu's- story: Never Forgiven**

**Disclaimer:** Lol… my commentary up here must get annoying… no I don't own Naruto

* * *

_-- Previously --_

"_But now… I realize… you were my only true friend…" Naruto smiled at the boy who smiled back_

"_That's right!" His fangs grew longer, Naruto didn't notice…_

_Naruto fell on to his backside, hugging his legs close to his body and resting his forehead on his knees. Naruto buried his head further, he began to reminisce all the horrible memories… he tried his hardest to stop them, but they wouldn't stop over-flooding his mind with pain and silent torture. Naruto grabbed his head and winced, the memories were burning his head giving him a migraine._

"_Naruto…?" The Kyuubi called out, shaking his shoulder_

_Naruto quickly flew back to reality "What?"_

"_Sasuke betrayed Orochimaru… you know that don't you?" The demon asked, his lifeless eyes staring deep into Naruto's blue orbs_

"_Yes… what about it?" Naruto questioned, his eyes turning dull_

"_Orochimaru… will take care of you… let you get revenge… and give you anything your heart desires… if…" Kyuubi spoke with much authority towards Naruto_

"_If…?" Naruto repeated, leaning in closer_

"_If… you kill… Sasuke…"

* * *

_

Freya sighed and stood up, she ran her tanned hands over the thick metal door. The only other possible way out instead of using a jutsu to break the door would be to pursue one of Orochimaru's ninja to open the door… but that was obviously out of the question at the start. She mildly cursed herself for getting into this situation at the beginning. Freya clutched her head and silently screamed to herself, it would've taken just a little bit of chakra to change her eye color… but no. She thought people would get suspicious with her constantly using chakra.

"Baka… im too cautious…" She hissed at herself

She could clearly hear the rain pouring down over their hideout; she hid her face in between her hands in anger. "Im such a baka…" She wiped away a silent tear that was sliding down her cheek. Everyone would be in incredible danger if she didn't get outside and warn them.

_This… All this… it's my fault… I could've easily let another more experienced Anbu do it… but no! Me and my dumb pride!_ Her breath was hitched from unshed tears "God… I'm such an idiot… anyone would have gotten out of this situation hours ago! They would've stopped him before he chucked them in the stupid _**mother-fucking**_ box!" She kicked one of the walls harshly, completely ignoring the hot intense pain shooting up her leg

"Hn." She stared up into the darkness of the tall ceiling "Well… I guess I should think over some more jutsu's… hmmm…"

"What jutsu can I use…?" She tapped her chin subconsciously as she scanned the large door

"Nya!" She slammed her eyes shut and slapped her hands over her face, getting angry with herself for being so useless. She was most likely the only person who could save everyone… that's if she knew how to get out. She groaned out and frustration and fell to the floor, landing on her backside with a small grunt. "Un…" She moaned out quietly, she was over-working her brain, giving her an intense headache…

"Naruto-kun… Hokage-sama… Everyone… Im sorry…" She wanted to cry but this wasn't the time to be crying over something

She shook her head furiously and stood up "Ok! No more regret! Time to get out of this place!" She stared intensely at the door, all the possible jutsu she could use

"Urgh! I've learnt so… many jutsu for this mission, I can barely think!" She squealed tugging at her brunette hair

She wasn't the best person for the job, although Freya was quite strong and could easily outwit her opponent; she was still having a lot of trouble trying to get her head around the situation. She grunted and plopped back down on the ground, heaving a large sigh and falling backwards and onto her back on the floor.

She could feel chakra surging from just outside the door, meaning that the door was being heavily guarded with ninja. She took slow blinks as she continued to stare into the dark roof "Okay… I guess I should clear my head of most thoughts…"

She closed her eyes and placed her hands behind her head, using them as some sort of pillow. Silence engulfed everything, even the rain seemed to have gotten quieter, there was some mild muttering outside from the guard Nins… but that didn't bother her. "Now… I guess I should think over strong… jutsu's only…"

She sat up and crossed her legs; silence was still playing a very important role right now. Her normally cheery face was now plain and placid, her eyes twitched each time she rejected a jutsu. Her eyes shot open, as a loud noise had slammed against the door; obviously it was someone out there trying to spook her. She growled in anger for loosing her train of thoughts.

"Sasuke-kun… even you would be disappointed in my stupidity…" Her eyes shot open and she leapt to her feet "Sasuke-kun!"

Her shocked expression morphed into an incredibly happy grin "That's it! The last jutsu they taught me!! Chidori!!"

She clasped her hands together in silent gratitude "Thank you Sasuke-kun… Thank you… Thank you… THANK YOU!"

Freya quickly preformed a numerous hand seals and called out "Chidori!!" A beautifully blue orb appeared in between her two hands, it was squealing loudly as she held it. Freya smirked and threw her arm backwards and then forwards, and the strong Chidori slammed into the metal door. Freya winced as she applied more pressure to the strong jutsu, her hand sunk into the doorway as the Chidori was breaking the thick metal. She cracked her orange eyes open to see light appearing from the other side.

"Almost… there…" she whispered, the large metal door fell to pieces as the Chidori finally broke through it

She mentally congratulated herself for performing the jutsu flawlessly, the Chidori melted away as she stopped the jutsu's chakra flow. Luckily only twelve missing Nin surrounded the door, not as many Nin as she had been up against before; she scanned over their expressions, seeing mostly shocked and/or stunned faces. Freya wiped the cold sweat from her forehead; the jutsu had taken a lot out of her… unfortunately. She slid her foot across the floor and got into a perfect fighting stance, She held her hand out and beckoned for them to attack.

"Which one of you pretty-boy's is gonna get their ass kicked first?" She smirked as they all threw her death-glares

They all alerted themselves with an ear-piercing battle cry; Freya took a step backwards as they charged forwards and straight at her. Freya punched an oncoming ninja harshly in the side of his face; he wobbled backwards as three more took his place. Freya grunted as one of the twelve had kicked her in the spine, she spun around and her foot came into contact with his chin. Blood poured for his head as it had come into contact with the wall with a lot of force. They all shivered under her taunting gaze, she licked her sharp canines.

"What's wrong…?" She swiveled her body around and continued to stare them down "… Im just a pretty… little… _girl_…"

One of the younger sound nin growled out loud, shifting Freya's attention to him. "What was that…?" The young shinobi clenched his hands into fists, his large pale knuckles turning an unnatural shade of white. He charged forward and threw his fist at her; Freya easily sidestepped the fast moving fist, bucking her knee up and into his chest. He coughed out some saliva and fell to the ground scratching at his sore stomach.

"Pathetic…" She spat out

The strong ninja armed themselves with kunai and shuriken; Freya placed her hand over her mouth in a yawn of pure boredom. "And here I thought it would be tough…"

A tall ninja in the back row shivered in fear, he quickly turned on his heel and ran down the hall. He heard cries from his now-deceased teammates and the evil mocking laughter of Freya. She didn't dare to turn back once, Freya was quite an evil young girl and she was now a major threat to Orochimaru's plan.

"SIR!!" He yelled out and slammed his hands into the door making the doors swing open.

"Hm…?" Orochimaru purred out, tilting his head to the side to see the intruder

"Freya has escaped from the cell! Our men are being brutally attacked!" He said in a flabbergasted tone (A.N: It is just me or is the word 'flabbergasted' hilarious?!)

"Oh…" He turned his head back to where it was originally "I thought she would have at least been a bit slower than this…"

"Sir! She's not normal!! She's killing all of them!" Anger tweaked his tone; Orochimaru sent him a look saying 'yell at me again and I'll make sure YOUR DEAD!'

The Nin cleared his throat and stepped backwards, Orochimaru spoke up "I know… she has a split personality… when she's frightened, she becomes a killing machine…" His tone stayed its usual monotone style

"Orochimaru-sama… is this true?" He asked carefully, Orochimaru nodded silently

The ninja contained his yell for the sake of his life; a loud explosion from below made the whole room rattle. The ninja fell over while Orochimaru didn't flinch at all; they both knew it was the young Freya using a jutsu against another one of Orochimaru's Nin's. Orochimaru smirked and sat up in his chair, he leaned his skinny figure backwards into the deep chair. Orochimaru's smirk widened drastically as he heard screams of horror and death emit from below himself.

"ALL YOUR MEN ARE DYING AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS SIT THERE AND SMIRK?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US SHE WAS POTENITALLY DANGEROUS?!" the ninja was beyond pissed off, to realize he had yelled at Orochimaru again

"And—No… No… im sorry! I wont ever yell at you again im sorry!" he fell to his knees for forgiveness

"Your right…" Orochimaru appeared from behind him and pulled him up by the scruff of his neck "… _you wont_…"

The snake-nin pulled out a kunai slowly from underneath his clothing; the ninja struggled for freedom from the snake-man's grasp. He devilishly licked the sharp kunai, running it slowly down his long and extended tongue. He gently ran it across the ninja's neck, applying more pressure as he went. The skin on his neck pierced open as the pressure increased on the thin blade above his flesh, Orochimaru smirked and sliced it harshly across his neck. Blood poured everywhere, soaking his clothes and hands. The skin on his neck peeled open and the Nin began to die an incredibly bloody death. "You… B-bastard…"

Orochimaru smiled down at him and went to sit back down in his chair; he slumped in it even further than he did before. Another explosion signaled to Orochimaru that Freya was free. He quietly stood up and watched her run across the blood soaked fields, jumping over and dodging the rotting corpses that lay motionless on the ground.

"My plan is working perfectly…"

**xXx**

"W-What…?" Naruto jumped backwards and stared at the Kyuubi boy in pure awe, this couldn't be true… he must've head him wrong, or the demon was trying to scare him "This… this is a joke right…?"

"Im afraid not…" he replied in a matter-of-fact tone "You have to kill him if you want happiness…"

"No… I couldn't kill him… no matter what he's done!" Naruto yelled at him

"Did he feel any sort of friendship towards you…?" the demon raised an eyebrow at Naruto

"Of course he did! We're… best friends… I think…" Naruto trailed off, his mind was disagreeing with every word that left his lips

Silence was getting the better of both the boys; it engulfed their whole conversation. Naruto stayed silent and waited for the demon to talk, he watched him intently out of the corner of his eye. The demon boy turned his head to look at Naruto; Naruto gulped audibly and turned his eye contact to something else… ANYTHING ELSE to keep his mind off the boy's eerie stare. He looked up and watched the dark, endless ceiling.

"He hates you" the demon kid smiled when he got the reaction he wanted from Naruto

"H--" The demon cut him off before he could complain

"And you hate him." He stated with a large smirk

"I don't! And he doesn't!" Naruto hissed, getting a fist ready to punch the evil Kyuubi boy

"Are you sure…? Have you ever asked him…?" He purred out, leaning backwards on to his hands

"Well… no… I haven't but…I kinda assumed…" He Kyuubi boy pounced on Naruto as he began to trail off

"You shouldn't assume things… that aren't true…" He growled down on to Naruto's face

"And _you_ shouldn't meddle with my life…" Naruto spat out, narrowing his eyes in anger

"Im not meddling… im helping you…" He brushed a few long bangs out of Naruto's eyes so he could see the emotions playing in his eyes

"Helping?! You're wanting me to kill my _only_ best friend!" Naruto screeched, hissing at the boy atop him

"I told you!" The Kyuubi wrapped his fingers around Naruto's thin neck and started to choke him "He's not your _best friend_! Let alone your _friend_! He hates _you_! And you hate _him_!_ Understand_?!"

Naruto squeaked as more pressure was applied to his neck, cutting off his air supply. "S…to…p…" Naruto whimpered out with his last breath, the demon realized his death hold on his neck and stood up. He planted a foot firmly over his chest to prevent any unnecessary movement. "He left you for Orochimaru…" More weight was pressed down on his chest "…you should do the same… make everyone feel what you felt when he left you…" Naruto winced, but the Kyuubi boy continued top drone on "Kill him… you know you want to…"

"No… I don't!" Naruto hissed, only being pushed back down by the Kyuubi's foot again "It'll make you happy…"

Naruto stayed silent this time, so he kept going "You can trust me… I promise… you won't regret this at all…"

"But… I…" Naruto started, but couldn't find the right words to say

You can trust me… I promise you this… Sasuke will pay for how he made you feel… 

Naruto was shocked to find, it was not the Kyuubi who had spoken this time… it was his own heart… or so he thought… Naruto gulped slowly and turned to look at the demon kid "Do you promise…?"

"I want the best for us… and revenge is the best…" He smiled down at Naruto and offered him a hand

Naruto gladly took the offer and was hoisted to his feet, "Yes… revenge on all those mother-fuckers… who made my life the living hell it is…"

"Yes… and…" Naruto looked over expectedly at him "… I will give you all my power… for this."

Naruto smirked and nodded at him "Right…"

The other stepped towards Naruto and wrapped his arms around his neck, a deep red chakra glowed around them as the Kyuubi began to take over his body. Naruto was angry… no furious… for letting all those fucked up villagers get away with this for so long… Naruto smirked, as his canines grew longer, his once beautiful blue orbs were now consumed by his own darkness… turning them a hellish Kyuubi red. The hot chakra glowed around Naruto as his other disappeared into thin air, Naruto smiled evilly to himself as he began to wake up.

Naruto's eyes began to open, slumber slowly drifted away as light glared into his eyes. The pouting rain was the only sound he could hear clearly. He shuffled his bed-ridden body into a sitting position on the soft bed. Naruto's eyes scanned the room for any signs of life; a young nurse was shuffling around in the corner fixing up some papers. She unsteadily stood up and juggled the many papers in her arms; she glanced over at Naruto and smiled.

"It's good to see--" her papers dropped to the floor as she shuffled back into the corner of the room in fear

"Its… Its…" She couldn't bring herself to say the dreaded word

Naruto smirked, his pointy fangs sticking out and spoke for her "Its… Kyuubi…"

* * *

OMG!!! I thought this was horrible!! I had a serious case of writers block!!! Im sooooo sorry!!! (Dodges flying fruit)

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	15. Chapter 15

Ok… Ok… I know I haven't updated in ages but… well… uhh… (Dodges can of soup) well… that's a new one… (Sees soup truck being unloaded) …Oh poop… Lol… while I was sick I was watching a gay dubbed one piece marathon XD it was sooooo lame!! It kept skipping episodes!!

**Please read Never forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu**

**Disclaimer:** Believe me… if I owned Naruto I'd be sure there was NO DUBBING ALLOWED… so I don't own Naruto…

* * *

_-- Previously --_

_Naruto's eyes began to open, slumber slowly drifted away as light glared into his eyes. The pouting rain was the only sound he could hear clearly. He shuffled his bed-ridden body into a sitting position on the soft bed. Naruto's eyes scanned the room for any signs of life; a young nurse was shuffling around in the corner fixing up some papers. She unsteadily stood up and juggled the many papers in her arms; she glanced over at Naruto and smiled._

"_It's good to see--" her papers dropped to the floor as she shuffled back into the corner of the room in fear_

"_Its… Its…" She couldn't bring herself to say the dreaded word_

* * *

**(Earlier) **(Before the Kyuubi was released)

Sasuke growled and punched Kabuto in the face, knocking him backwards a little. "What the hell do you mean?!" He hissed venomously and kicked Kabuto in the stomach. Kabuto merely laughed at his anger and physical rage, deciding to provoke him more he decided to play dumb with the situation "I don't know what you're talking about Sasuke…" Sasuke caught on quickly to his game "Don't fucking play dumb!"

Rain slid down the sweaty and already soaked skin. Their wounds fresh and stiff, bruises marked their usually flawless skin and their faces were tainted with the enemy's blood. Sasuke felt disgusted with what he had to do, a part of him felt exhilarated with the fact of killing the snake-man's lackeys, yet another half told him it was only a job he had to do. The part that was falling in love with the fact of killing people sickened him. He shook off those feelings as Kabuto landed a punch squarely on his forehead, snapping his head backwards. His unready body fell backwards and plunged into the thick dirt below their feet.

"Come on Sasuke… Orochimaru taught you better than to let your mind wander in a battle…" Kabuto taunted in a mocking tone, Sasuke grunted and swung his legs around in an attempt to knock him over.

Kabuto was one step ahead as he quickly dodged the swinging legs; Kabuto clicked his tongue over and over again in disappointment. Sasuke flipped forward and kicked his legs up, aiming for Kabuto's chest. Kabuto silently sidestepped it, letting Sasuke kick off a tree and land on his feet. Kabuto had to admit, he was surprised with Sasuke's hands-on approach. He slipped to the left, letting Sasuke slip past him again. Sasuke threw his arms backwards, a kunai in hand, only to be caught with a shuriken being held by Kabuto. They smashed together; Kabuto's was unfortunately getting the upper hand and pushing Sasuke's kunai backwards. Sasuke slipped his hand down his own thigh and snatched a kunai out from its hoister; Sasuke stabbed it forward, aiming for Kabuto's stomach.

"Hn." Kabuto growled and pushed away from Sasuke as the kunai barely scratched the surface of his stomach.

Kabuto charged forward and slammed fist his into Sasuke's stomach, in a loud poof, a log of wood replaced Sasuke's body. It fell to the ground with a loud clatter; Kabuto smirked and looked up to see Sasuke. He was falling from atop tree with a large shuriken in hand; Sasuke threw the shuriken in Kabuto's direction with a lot of force.

It was spinning wildly as it approached Kabuto's still figure, Sasuke grabbed a hold of a branch and swung himself over it, landing on top of it in a cat-like stance and was ready to pounce if the shuriken missed. Kabuto jumped high, the shuriken sliced through the thin tree trunk behind him only to get lodged in a thicker one behind that.

Sasuke growled and jumped down from the tree, he pulled out a kunai and aimed it for Kabuto's head. Kabuto smirked and laced his fingers with the sharp shuriken; he rapidly threw towards Sasuke's falling body. Shuriken sliced open his skin and dug deep into his flesh, tearing away the small pieces of skin that had already been damaged, Sasuke winced slightly but kept his sights set on Kabuto. Kabuto was shocked in the least to see the wounds had not affected Sasuke's attack in the slightest, he slid his foot over to run away but Sasuke had already landed. The force of the kunai slammed deep into his left shoulder blade, sending fiery and intense pain surging down his left arm. Kabuto winced and shuffled backwards, the kunai petruding from his shoulder. Sasuke smirked in satisfaction as he saw Kabuto's wound bleed out, staining his clothing in deep crimson ooze.

Kabuto sent an icy glare at Sasuke, but Sasuke just proudly stood his ground as Kabuto continued trying to intimidate the menacing Uchiha. Kabuto cringed as he pulled out the blood-smothered kunai from his wounded shoulder; Kabuto began to dig deep into his pockets. Kabuto eventually pulled out a large needle filled with an orange liquid; he stabbed it beside his large gaping wound and squeezed the orange liquid into his veins. In mere seconds the wound closed up, it was now barely a scar left on his shoulder. Sasuke sent him a menacing stare, rather pissed off that he had wrecked his fun by going and fixing the wound he had inflicted on him.

"What did you mean earlier, when you said Orochimaru was the least of my worries?" He asked suddenly

Kabuto arched a brow and sent him a knowing look "All your questions will be answered soon…"

Sasuke pounced to his left and dislodged the large shuriken, the shuriken had been lodged in it so far that when he pulled it out, the tree crumpled to the ground in a massive heap. Sasuke threw it at him and missed, he ran over and caught it with much ease. "What the _fuck_ do you mean?!" Sasuke was getting furious with Kabuto's games.

"Stop playing games and tell me!" Sasuke threw the shuriken into a tree, which Kabuto was perched in. Kabuto jumped off the branch and landed on the ground with a small clatter. He sighed in pure amusement as he watched the tree fall down and brought another with it, as it was fell to the ground.

Kabuto sighed and shook his head in amusement "Ahh…Sasuke… You're quite headstrong… You _really_ think I'll tell you?"

Although Sasuke would kill himself if he admitted it, but Kabuto was actually right. He had absolutely no chance of getting the truth from Kabuto, He'd have to wait and see for himself. "Hn. You might've actually had a chance to survive… if you had told me."

Sasuke reached behind him and pulled out his katana, he wielded it as the rain droplets glistened on the shiny new metal before falling to the ground. (A.N: Sorry if you think it's strange for him to have a katana) Kabuto raised an eyebrow at the weapon of choice; Sasuke smirked and brought the katana backwards into his fighting stance. He charged forward and menacingly swung the katana's blade at Kabuto's face. Kabuto swiftly swung his head away from the blade and dodged it gracefully. Sasuke sliced his katana to the left, scratching the surface of Kabuto's arm, leaving a small cut on his skin the quickly dried up. Sasuke quickly regained his posture and sliced his katana across Kabuto's chest. His shirt and skin both peeled away, letting blood seep out rapidly. Kabuto cringed and wobbled backwards; He shoved his hand deep into his pocket and pulled out another needle.

Sasuke knocked out Kabuto's feet from underneath him; Kabuto fell to the ground with a small grunt escaping his lips. The glass needle broke as it came into contact with the ground, letting the orange liquid be washed away with the rain and melt into soggy grass. Sasuke pointed the katana at Kabuto's face, with one swift jab; he could kill Kabuto within an instant. But he wouldn't.

"Tell me… and you'll be saved" Sasuke was lying through his teeth, as soon as Kabuto would tell him the information he wanted, he would do away with him and dispose of Orochimaru later. If he _was_ telling the truth, Orochimaru wasn't his top priority right now.

"Hn. I'd rather be killed…"

Sasuke smirked and held his katana high "too bad…"

**xXx**

Freya glared back at the horrible place that had kept her hostage for so long, she could see Orochimaru staring down at her with amusement. She stabbed a hidden ninja with a katana she had stolen from a fresh corpse. The blood dripped carelessly off the end of the katana and on to the already blood smothered ground, she threw the katana down with a loud bang, the katana broke in two. The handle and blade lay carelessly thrown on the floor as she began to run away.

Freya winced as each step she took sent a jolt of pain up her distorted foot, but she wouldn't give up. She ran fast throughout the forest, dodging everything that seemed to be underneath her bare feet. She could hear the constant rumbling of the thunder above her, the screams and yells of the dying Nin filled her ears. He winced as the putrid smell of rotting bodies and blood ran through her nose, she coughed and held her nose.

A root was petruding dangerously from the ground out of a near by tree, Freya was sent to the ground when he foot got caught in the root's grasp. She yelped in pain when her foot twisted in a gross direction, she willed away her need to scream. She unsteadily stood back up and began to run again, her steps were uneven and wobbly. Her feet were caked in mud and blood; her right foot was twisted in the wrong direction and had a large bleeding gash on it. The rain and pain from her wounds was slowly clouding her vision, her eyes were beginning to fog up as he steps slowed down. The sounds around her blacked out as she walked into a halt, Her happiness of freedom and hope faded away as darkness and blank memories filled her head.

The cool rain splashed the dirty water up her slim tanned legs; her breathing was deep and uncontrolled as she fell to her knees. She squished the mud in between her thin fingers, the mud molded around her hands as the rain made it run over her hands. The mud quickly consumed her hands, toes and knees.

"I must… find… Uchiha-san…" She mumbled to herself

The mud cleared away as she stood back up. She brushed the dirt off herself and began to walk again. Her face held no expression as she walked unsteadily towards Konoha; she slapped her hands over her eyes in confusion.

"Ah… idiot… I gotta hurry…" She said out-loud to no one

She opened her eyes wide and scanned the area, Bodies and discarded weapons lay upon the wet surface, and trees were splattered in blood and organs. Freya jumped her way atop a random tree branch; she had a quick stretch and pounced on to another branch. She ran across the branches swiftly, her eyes never faltering or getting distracted.

She heard the cries of pain getting louder with each tree she skipped over, not long until she saw random shinobi and missing nin getting into fierce battles with one another. Freya slipped on a saturated branch and fell to the ground; she shook her head vigorously and ridded her face of the rain. Her gloves were soaked and blood stained.

Freya jumped up and rubbed her hands together "Now… were do I--" She stopped in mid-sentence when a familiar voice rang through her head "This is too troublesome…" She let a giant smile spread across her face; there was no mistaking that that was Shikamaru's voice.

Freya ran off in the direction of their voices, she heard the high-pitched laughter that was unmistakably Ino's. She began to bolt herself in the direction, she ran as fast as her tiny legs would go. She saw Kiba ruthlessly kill an opposing Nin, his blood spraying over his mask and body. Freya pushed herself through the trees and appeared behind the four ninja.

Sai, Kiba, Ino and Shikamaru, all swiftly turned around and were ready to attack the intruder. Freya lifted her head and smiled through her over-grown bangs. Kiba was the first to realize whom it was (surprisingly) He let a grin plaster on his face "Its Freya!"

Ino looked between Freya and Kiba, she stopped on Freya and smiled, placing her weapons away. Sai and Shikamaru silently placed them away as well, Freya sighed in happiness knowing they would not attack her. She limply walked over to the group as her face turned serious.

"Where is Sasuke?" she didn't bother with the respectful names, she wanted to know fast, she hadn't come this far to be kind.

**xXx**

Sasuke winced and dropped his katana, Kabuto roughly stabbed a kunai into Sasuke's arm, and it was sickly petruding out the other side. Sasuke saw his blood run out from the cracks in his damaged skin; Kabuto quickly injected another needle into his arm and the wound closed up magically. Sasuke growled in anger, every time Kabuto was close to dying he always seemed to have another trick up his sleeve. Sasuke removed the kunai that was diagonally placed under his skin, blood gushed out as he did so. Sasuke's first instinct was to stop the bleeding; the tugged on his shirt until it ripped and wrapped the fabric tightly around his wound.

Sasuke reached down for his katana to find it missing, Sasuke's eyes widened in horror to see that Kabuto was dangling right in front of his face the whole time. Kabuto smirked and snapped the blade on his knee, shoving the broken blade into the tree and throwing the discarded blade piece onto the ground.

Sasuke jumped up on to the branch and threw a punch at Kabuto; he swiftly caught it and aimed a punch for his stomach. Sasuke swung himself around allowing Kabuto to miss. Sasuke threw his leg up to knock Kabuto's head; Kabuto quickly released his hands and caught his leg. He swung Sasuke around in circles before letting go, Sasuke's body fell into a tree which he swiftly kicked off and flew right back towards Kabuto.

Kabuto smirked and jumped down on to the ground as Sasuke followed him, he readied himself into an attack position. Sasuke threw punches at Kabuto as Kabuto defended and attacked too, Sasuke growled as he was only landing a few punches on his target.

_I have to use Chidori… But only at the right time… _Sasuke mentally noted to use the Chidori, but only when he knew the time was right.

Sasuke threw a punch at Kabuto; it connected to his right cheek. Kabuto took a step backwards; the punch had a nasty after bite. Sasuke smirked and re-activated his sharingan, after accidentally de-activating it while he was thinking. Sasuke punched Kabuto's gut fiercely and threw his fist upwards into his chin, Kabuto fell into the air and fell back down onto his back. He coughed up a vast amount of blood as his back came into contact with the ground.

"Had enough…?" Sasuke taunted, leaning over Kabuto as his sharingan spun wildly

"Hardly…" Kabuto coughed out "If you hate me so much… kill me…"

Sasuke hissed, he remembered the day he had done away with his brother. They had said the exact same words before their untimely deaths.  
_Now… _Sasuke lunged forward and pinned Kabuto's limp body against a tree.

"Chidori…" He whispered to himself, the large blue orb appeared in between his fingers. It glistened and swirled in continuous swirls and circles. Kabuto still had his death-like smirk plastered on his face.

Sasuke smiled evilly as he pushed the Chidori up at Kabuto's chest, he pushed harder and fell his hand beginning to sink into Kabuto's chest. He could see the willed down pain in Kabuto's eyes, even though he wouldn't let it cross his expression. Sasuke gave up going slow and slammed his hand into the tree behind Kabuto's back. His hand had broken through to the other side and was feeling the wet bark of the tree behind his back. Kabuto's expression was a painful smile; he had let his smirk slip within the last milliseconds of his life.

"Sasuke-kun…?" Freya's voice rang throughout his ears, even though he couldn't recognize her

"Who…?" Sasuke mumbled, letting Kabuto's lifeless body fall to the ground

Her hair was brunette and limp from the cold rain, her clothes were completely covered in blood and dirt and she had a sound nin head band hanging loosely around her neck, it sparkled from the rain and little light there was. Sasuke firstly mistook her for a missing nin. He pinned her up against the tree, holding her neck tightly. Freya choked from lack of air; her feet were dangling in the air and were high above the ground. "Sas… uke…" She choked out his name, letting her eyes open slightly

Sasuke gulped when he remembered those odd eyes, they belonged to only one person…

"Freya…?"

* * *

OH HOW CRAP WAS THIS?!?! I did the whole last thing in less than an hour, I hate it! I hate myself! And now if you'll excuse me, it's midnight and you don't want to know how tired I am!

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	16. Chapter 16

Ok… Ok… Ok… I know im a terrible writer and updater, but here's my excuse:  
I have never done my maths homework and thanks to my teacher, I now have to do every single piece of homework I've missed out on. And that is 16 chapters of unfinished work with at least 19 questions in each and 5 mini questions in those!  
And im sorry for that horrible filler chapter last time… I might fix it up some day… MIGHT!

**Please read: Never Forgiven, By Oukoku Hatsu**

**Disclaimer: **I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own Naruto… (Hugs Naruto plushie)

* * *

_-- Previously --_

_Sasuke smiled evilly as he pushed the Chidori up at Kabuto's chest, he pushed harder and felt his hand beginning to sink into Kabuto's chest. He could see the willed down pain in Kabuto's eyes, even though he wouldn't let it cross his expression. Sasuke gave up going slow and slammed his hand into the tree behind Kabuto's back. His hand had broken through to the other side and was feeling the wet bark of the tree behind his back. Kabuto's expression was a painful smile; he had let his smirk slip within the last milliseconds of his life._

"_Sasuke-kun…?" Freya's voice rang throughout his ears, even though he couldn't recognize her_

"_Who…?" Sasuke mumbled, letting Kabuto's lifeless body fall to the ground_

_Her hair was brunette and limp from the cold rain, her clothes were completely covered in blood and dirt and she had a sound nin head band hanging loosely around her neck, it sparkled from the rain and little light there was. Sasuke firstly mistook her for a missing nin. He pinned her up against the tree, holding her neck tightly. Freya choked from lack of air; her feet were dangling in the air and were high above the ground. "Sas… uke…" She choked out his name, letting her eyes open slightly_

_Sasuke gulped when he remembered those odd eyes, they belonged to only one person…_

_"Freya...?"_

* * *

"K-K-K-Kyuubi…?" The young nurse stammered over her words horribly, fright was beginning to consume her senses

Naruto's lips quirked into an evil smirk, his long and sharp canines poked through his dark smile. It was a smile that could frighten away small children and animals "Yeah… That's me…"

"N-no… we… we thought you were safely locked away within the back of Naruto's mind…" She mumbled to no one in particular

"Well… I guess you thought wrong… I have had put up with everyone's neglect and hatred long enough… Kyuubi and I merged as one and now we are going to get revenge on Konoha, and everyone within it…" The half-demon Naruto licked his sharp canines and his smirk widened

"No… we have learnt… that he is one of us… no matter what he contains…" He nursed muttered to herself; it wasn't a lie… yet it wasn't the full truth either…

"Well… well… well… now that I have become a threat, you think that you can find your way into my good side after all those years of scorn?" Naruto chuckled at the mere thought of his words; there was clearly only one word to summarize his thoughts about it… "…Pathetic…"

Naruto's hellish red eyes pierced into her emerald orbs, it felt like she was staring death right in its soulless eyes. Only tempting fate more… "You humans are pathetic… you think everyone can forgive and forget… but reality isn't anything like that…"

"Please… I-I wasn't o-one too de-t-test you…" She mumbled as her eyes widened more

"Sure… But on the inside… I bet you hated me… hurt me… wanted me dead…" Naruto's eyes narrowed in pure disgust "And now… I want _you_ dead…"

Naruto took a delayed step forward; the Kyuubi was still trying to master the art of walking on hind legs (A.N: Its my story, so its my random Kyuubiness!!). The nurse backed further into the corner, books and other objects were poking into her back as she forced herself into them and the wall. Naruto took another step forward; he continually was walking on his toes out of the Kyuubi's fox-like habit.

Naruto crouched down beside the squirming nurse; fear erupted inside her as she quickly resorted to throwing books at the demon. Naruto quickly dodged every book hurled his way with great ease. She felt the ground and found she had thrown all the books, they were now scattered all over the ground with torn pages and paper still fluttering about the room, now nothing stood between her and the slowly approaching monster.

"Kyah!!" She swung her fists rapidly at the demon "Get away! Get away!"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at her stupid behavior, her eyes were slammed shut in fright as she continued to try and hit Naruto. But was obviously nowhere close to hitting him. She hesitantly cracked an eye open and saw Naruto was gone; she slowly stopped flailing her hands in the air and let them drop limply to her sides. She looked for side to side and up and down, the was no where in sight… "…Eh…"

An unknown identity slammed into her body, the wall harshly stabbed into her back and spine, and the man's hand clamped over her mouth in an attempt to stop her screams. Her eyes shot open in terror as she saw the Kyuubi's deep red eyes flicker from the lightening that was currently exploding outside. She muffled a whimpered scream; tears were streaming down her cheeks, over Naruto's tanned hand and dripping on to the cold floor. It was at least a good, solid minute before Naruto slowly removed his hand away from her mouth; her fingers were twitching erratically from fright.

"Shh…" Naruto cooed out gently, brushing his hands down her long bangs "Relax…" He danced his fingers down her cheeks and idly played with the bottom of her hair "…It'll all be over soon… relax…"

Her eyes widened even more than mankind thought was humanly possible, Naruto could purely see his reflection that was shimmering off her glazed eyes. Naruto licked his canines and his cold lips; the desire to taste her blood was becoming more and more wanting. She closed her eyes tight, hoping this whole thing was a terrible nightmare; she let her eyes creep back open. Naruto's deep red eyes were giving her a questioning look; she let a small frightened smile play upon her lips. "Ah… I guess it's not a dream…"

Naruto chuckled evilly and shook his head at her density "It's a shame isn't it…" Naruto caught the cold tear running down her cheek, Naruto rolled his eyes. She was starting to cry again.

"I won't be persuaded by tears…" Naruto glared at her, it was dark and frightening; it could easily take on the infamous Uchiha glare with ease.

He ran his sharp nail across the soft flesh on her neck; a long red and white mark illuminated the half scratched skin. It began to itch and burn, she forced herself not to touch it as the burning sensation intensified. Her pale, manicured nails dug into the thin skin on her palms, leaving small crescent indents in them. She bit her lip as he scratched the surface again; this time she felt the skin peel open and her blood slip out slightly. The cut wasn't long or big, but it stung like hell from the Kyuubi's fiery touch.

Every thing fell silent. The soft and hypnotic beat of the pattering rain on the roof and window were being silenced out, Naruto's hot breath ran across her face and he breathed out heavily. She gulped audibly as Naruto's fingers still were dancing over her neck, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he watched his fingers brush over her thin neck.

"Tell me… Where is the Uchiha…?" hatred was spilled over his sentence as he purred them out

"No!" She answered quickly, turning her face away from his

"What was that?" Naruto played dumb; he leaned in closer to her ear and hissed "Could you repeat that?"

"I said no! Im not telling you were he is—AH!" her words morphed into a high-pitched scream as Naruto sunk his sharp teeth into her earlobe

Naruto dragged his teeth backwards across the soft flesh, blood poured from the four long teeth marks, there were four small chunks missing from her ear from where his teeth had pulled away. She screamed and clutched her ear in pain; blood was seeping out fast and was spilling out the cracks between her fingers. Her blonde, long hair became quickly tainted with her crimson blood. She rocked back and forth trying to ease the pain, her teeth were clenched and she was screaming quietly to herself. Naruto gave her an insane smile; blood was covering his four teeth in the top and bottom row at the front. His teeth were those of a cat's… or a fox…

"Now… will you tell me…?" Blood dripped off his slimy teeth as he continued to smile

"…N…Never…!" She hesitantly protested, tensing her shoulders and shifting herself away from his body as she tried to protect her neck

"Don't be stupid!" He growled out fiercely

He wrapped fingers around her thin neck and slammed her up against the wall; she refused herself to cry out in pain only letting a small girlish grunt escape from her discomfort. It would leave a large bruise, but that wasn't important now. Naruto sent a fiery glare at her; she ignored it completely as he spoke "I tried to be patient with you bitch!" His grip tightened, she choked slightly from lack of air "But no… you had to go on the Uchiha's side…" Naruto chuckled "…and I actually might've let you live… if you had told me that is…"

Naruto slid his hand down her neck and rested it on her collarbone; he exposed her whole neck without letting it go. She squirmed slightly, trying not to choke herself in the process; Naruto carelessly ghosted his nails over her neck. Making her one last deal. "This is your last chance… tell me… where he is…"

"NO!" As soon as the words left her lips, Naruto sliced his claws across her neck; they sharply sliced through a vital organ causing blood to flail wildly from her neck. Her blood spewed out all over Naruto's face and clothes, splattering everything in its path. The blood's speed slowed down until it was continually trickling from her neck. She was clearly dying from lack of blood loss; her mouth was slowly gaping in terror as Naruto let her lifeless blood slide down the blood-drenched wall. She sharply sucked in her air as it was her last, the erratic beating of her heart slowed down until it stopped, her eyes still wide with fear and her skin as pale as death. Yes, she was dead.

Naruto smiled and stood up to his full height, he snaked a hand through his blood-speckled, golden hair. "Darn… I guess I'll have to find him on my own…" Naruto shuffled unevenly to the window, propping his elbows atop the window head and looking out the frosted glass. He wiped his fingers across the glass and looked out at the battlefield, he could see Sakura, Tsunade and many other medical nin, off in the distance his accurate eyesight caught sight of Hinata and Neji, and he could feel their Byakugan was activated. He could sense Sasuke's Sharnigan slowly disappear until it was gone. He grew curious of the sudden change but let it drop, Naruto's chakra was masked so no one could sense the Kyuubi. "…Or maybe…" Naruto let one side of his lips slip into a half-smile "…maybe… I can get him to come here…"

Naruto growled and unleashed his chakra, windows shattered to pieces as the force of it hit them. Glass rained down on the floor while Naruto continued to unleash the Kyuubi's full power. The lamp broke and so did the light bulb above his head, the glass shards sprinkled over her feet and face, leaving minor cuts on his face. Hot tears leaked down his face, tears of regret and bottled up pain and anger. Yes, revenge on the pitiful village would soon be his…

_Unshed tears… hidden by a mask of happiness…  
Pure, clean darkness... that is slowly being corrupted…_

_Sweet serenity… that has been tainted around the edges…  
When happiness fades to black…  
_

_What else is there…?_

Naruto's shirt had been singed off, leaving his tanned chest open and bare. His hot feet almost melted through the cold, tiled floor, chakra whirled around his body creating a mask over it. The ends of Naruto's black pants were burnt, leaving the ends jaggered and uneven, now reaching half way down his shins. No thanks, to the Kyuubi's incredible strength. A tail of chakra swished across the ground, melting in the floor with its hot, red power.

He felt Sasuke's sharingan warm up again, he thought of it as a good sign… "Here's… Naruto…" He purred out dangerously

**xXx**

**(Earlier)** (Before the Kyuubi released his power)

Sasuke let his grip recede on her neck, Freya slid down the tree trunk and grunted as her backside hit the soaked ground. She absent-mindedly rubbed her sore neck, trying to rid it off the choked feeling. Sasuke looked down at her in mild curiosity, he had no idea she was coming, heck! He barely knew she was still alive! Freya choked out a strangled cough and unsteadily rose to her feet, she rested her back on the tree trunk for support. Freya breathed slowly and harshly; her breath hitched each time she inhaled it, her throat burning from running and being half-strangled. Sasuke looked at her expectantly, he let his mind do the talking instead of him. "…I thought you were dead…"

Freya looked up at him, her right eye closed from pain. She stared deeply into his pure black eyes and chuckled slightly at the strange choice of words… "No… Im not… but if I didn't escape…" her face turned serious, her eyes filled with hatred and black anger "…I would have been good as dead…" Her words were cold and sent a chill up his spine, Sasuke nodded in understanding.

"Also… why are you here…" He growled out, he needed to find Orochimaru now! Not mess around with dumb girl's shenanigans… Freya avoided gaze for a minute, she hadn't forgotten about it… but she knew it was a touchy subject to talk about with Sasuke…

"Ummm…" She drawled out, she chewed her lip and continued to avoid Sasuke's fiery glare aimed at her. How could she tell him Orochimaru's master plan to get revenge on Sasuke and keep a poker face? It was easier said than done…

"Err…" She closed her eyes and drew blood from biting down on her lip to harshly; blood ran through her mouth and stained her teeth. Tainting her mouth with a metal-like taste.

"Tell me!!" Sasuke hissed grabbed her shoulders and pushing her into the tree again, Freya squeaked loudly as she came in contact with the tree.

"AH!!" She yelled in frustration at herself "!" She panted out from loss of breath, Sasuke stood completely still, and he was stunned at how fast the words came out of her mouth.

Sasuke sighed and mumbled, "Can you repeat that… slowly…"

Freya took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and repeated every word again, "…Orochimaru is going to use the Kyuubi to kill you… and since the Kyuubi is in Naruto he had to persuade Naruto into giving in to the Kyuubi, and if you don't wake him up he will destroy all Konoha…"

Sasuke nodded slowly… the words still taking their time to soak into his head. Sasuke's eyes dulled and his skin paled even more than usual, the words have finally gotten through. He growled and exploded in a fiery rage. Freya leaned into the tree in fright; Sasuke was quite scary when he was angry "WHAT?!?!?!?!?!"

Freya blocked her ears from Sasuke's excessive noise, Sasuke began to rant to himself "How _dare_ he even think about using _my_ friend against me! Naruto wouldn't even _think_ about hurting me! We are best friends! Sure… I left him and he left me but… so what!" Sasuke continued to argue with himself as Freya tried to slip a quick word in each time he took a breath "…Sasuke…"

"That Orochimaru thinks he can just come back and try and ruin my whole life again! I mean, seriously! I swear I will gut him the second I see his _fucking _ugly snake face!" He cracked his knuckles as Freya tried to break through his conversation again "…Oi…" She twitched when he continued to rant on and on…

"First I will _gouge_ out his eyes with a blunt plastic spoon and feed them to the nin dogs, then I will break all his limbs and watch him die as he gets drenched in his own blood! And then I'll cut off his tongue and shove it up his--" Freya cut him off

"UCHIHA!!!!" She screamed at him, Sasuke turned around and yelled right back at her "WHAT?!"

She grabbed his face between her palms and pushed his face up against hers, so she was staring deep into his eyes "Listen, and listen good…! If Naruto gives into the Kyuubi there will be absolutely no way of getting him back! Orochimaru said that he has been hurt to many times to know the difference of hate and friendship!"

"And… if he does give into the Kyuubi…" Sasuke murmured, thinking out loud again… Freya's eyes narrowed and she pushed herself away from Sasuke "…If he does…" She lowered her head sadly "…then… I have no hope…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, she couldn't be serious… "You're lying…" Sasuke growled, Freya chuckled and replied instantly "Think what you want Sasuke-sama… but im afraid… that it has already begun…"

"Stop lying!" He half-yelled and half-choked on his words, Freya hissed at him and yelled back with more force "im not lying! If you want to go find Orochimaru! And have him tell you the same thing… then fine!" She abruptly turned on her heel and faced in the opposite direction. Sasuke scuffed his foot in the mud; he stared down at Freya's broken feet. They were both in strange directions and her right foot had a bone petruding out its side, Sasuke cringed and spoke up, "How did you break your feet…"

Freya didn't turn around "When I was trying to get away from Orochimaru… a missing nin attacked both my feet and well… yeah." She stopped speaking before she began to ramble; she had a tendency to do that… Sasuke nodded, but realized she wasn't looking he added a quick 'okay'.

Silence took over, the quiet beating of the rain faded out, Sasuke could only hear the thoughts running through his mind. Everything within the last days with Naruto had been hectic. Everything was mismatched and out of place, his normal life was topsy-turvy and disorientated. Sasuke glared at the ground, he was angry for letting Orochimaru's plan slip through the cracks… it was obvious… practically staring him the face, but no… he didn't see it coming. Freya turned around and stared intensely at him "GO!" Freya growled at him loudly

"Where?" He replied with even more venom on his words than hers

"To Naruto! Please! I beg of you…" she fell to her knee's and shuffled in the mud over to Sasuke "Please… Please… go… We are in grave danger… Naruto is scared and confused… he will easily give into the Kyuubi…" She rested her head on his kneecap in one last prayer "Please…"

"Freya…" Sasuke muttered…

A loud explosion woke them both up, they both stared off in the direction of the explosion. Sasuke and Freya shivered in fright when they both felt the familiar chakra of… the Kyuubi… Sasuke stared in disbelief; the chakra rate was growing higher and stronger every second that ticked past. Freya picked herself up off the ground and shook Sasuke's shoulders, "Sasuke!!"

"Naruto…" Sasuke mumbled in a hypnotized tone, Freya screamed at him again, anger was burning deep inside her throat "Sasuke!!!"

"…Naruto… he's…" Sasuke wasn't listening again…

"Go!!!!!" She cried out in a whiney tone, and Sasuke began to run as Naruto's name left his lips in a low shriek. Sasuke ran through the forest on his toes, he dodged every frozen ninja and every corpse… He could see the red glow of the Kyuubi's chakra illuminating the area near the hospital. Sasuke activated his sharingan; he could practically hear the mocking laughter of Orochimaru now… Yes… after Freya's desperate attempts to get him to go faster… he had walked straight into Orochimaru's plan… he was foolish…

"Naruto!!" Sasuke cried out as he halted his running to a slow walk, looking up at the shattered windows and the room set a fire…

"Naruto… No…"

Hinata looked up vigorously from the ninja she was attacking as did Neji, their Byakugan faded away as they caught sight of the burning and the Kyuubi's red-hot chakra. Hinata let a lone tear fall down her cheek as she let his name leave her lips

"…Naruto-kun…"

Ino and Sai looked up and felt the Kyuubi, Ino gasped and stumbled back into Shikamaru making him turn around carefully "Hm…?" he replied lazily… his half-lidded eyes woke up with shock as Ino held her mouth in shock.

Kiba clenched his teeth in anger as the all spoke out the same name… "Naruto…!"

The lone word echoed through the dark, misty forest… They were frightened… They were scared… Everyone felt like this was the end… Kyuubi was now on the loose… Naruto was angry, confused… and frightened as well… He had turned to the only helping hand that had been there for him all his life…

The Kyuubi… He knew Naruto's strengths and weakness' as well as he did… If not better. He could persuade Naruto into most things… This was not one of those things. The Kyuubi found it had to convince Naruto into revenge… Everyone had the coldest feeling that Orochimaru was to blame for all this… a cold breeze blew away their slowly falling tears that were rolling down their cheeks, it sent a cold shiver up their spine… from fright and the cold air against their wet skin…

The soft name of a misunderstood child who grew up into a confused man, continued to blow through the trees with the wind…  
"Naruto…"

_Deep bells of purity… The moonlight is illuminating the sky…_

_The remains of sweet splattering rain… That is forever falling…  
Lest the skies begin to darken… Their clouds dull and gray…  
As childish laughter fades from your throat… My heart constricts…_

_No… You've betrayed me… for the last time…_

_…im sorry..._

* * *

O-M-G!!! Im finally finished!!! I did this chapter with 3 oranges tictac packets… a bottle of water… and a will that could easily be broken!! But no… you people didn't break it!! Meh… my fault… (Sigh) Anywho… Lol, My mini-poems are retarded aye…?  
P.S (I might kill Freya off… im sick of her… any one who wants her off say 'I')

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	17. Chapter 17

Ok… Im trying to update faster… but I hope this was faster than last time… I really screwed up last time… (Sigh)  
Anywho… Hope You enjoy… (Or not)

**Disclaimer:** Gosh… I don't own Naruto… But I own Sasuke!!! MWUHAHAHAHA!! (cough) Leave me and my fragile grip on reality alone. TT.TT

* * *

_--Previously--_

_The lone word echoed through the dark, misty forest… They were frightened… They were scared… Everyone felt like this was the end… Kyuubi was now on the loose… Naruto was angry, confused… and frightened as well… He had turned to the only helping hand that had been there for him all his life… _

_The Kyuubi… He knew Naruto's strengths and weakness' as well as he did… If not better. He could persuade Naruto into most things… This was not one of those things. The Kyuubi found it had to convince Naruto into revenge… Everyone had the coldest feeling that Orochimaru was to blame for all this… a cold breeze blew away their slowly falling tears that were rolling down their cheeks, it sent a cold shiver up their spine… from fright and the cold air against their wet skin…_

_The soft name of a misunderstood child who grew up into a confused man, continued to blow through the trees with the wind…  
"Naruto…"_

Naruto padded his way over to the large gaping hole in the wall, his toes and the top of his feet pressed over the shattered glass leaving small indents and cuts. The cuts healed rapidly as Naruto continued to walk until he was at the hole, he could see all the shocked and freaked out faces of everyone below. Sakura's emerald eyes were staring straight up at him, they were wide and were tweaked with fright and curiosity. Naruto smirked and flared up his chakra for a more dramatic effect.

It took a while before the screams finally began to start; Mothers and Fathers scooped up their children and began to evacuate the safety area that Tsunade had prepared for them. Naruto rolled his eyes and ran a hand over his pulsing seal, he felt the warmth it was giving off and smiled. '_After this… I will go to Orochimaru… and then… he'll know what to do…_' Naruto's thoughts evilly pressed into his skull, oh how he had waited for this day…

Naruto let his toes brush ever-so-slightly over the edge of the building; he leaned dangerously over the building and got a clear birds-eye view of the whole battlefield. The cold rain showered in from the high wind, which was lightly tousling Naruto's long bangs. Naruto could feel the mild churning of his stomach; it was faint… but still there. Naruto quickly recognized it to be his guilt…

Naruto willed down the feeling quickly, he knew this was what he wanted… he had suffered long enough from the villagers hurtful words and looks. Naruto ran both his hands over his face in annoyance. He knew from the start this would happen! His guilt usually had a mind of it's own, even when Naruto was being consumed by his thoughts for revenge, it always found someway to change his mind… but not today.

"Hehe… Pitiful village…" Naruto kicked off the shards that were teeter tottering on the edge of the wall, they fell slowly from the up-rush of the wind.

Naruto wiped one of his long, golden bangs behind his ear and sighed contently to himself. He could feel Sasuke's chakra and Sharingan, Sasuke had to have been far away since he hadn't reached his destination yet. After all… Naruto knew all the extravagant training, from Orochimaru, hadn't gone to waste after all those years…

Naruto glared harshly towards the forest, Sasuke deserved this… all this. He had abandoned everyone that day, and he when he returned with Orochimaru and his parade of goons, all he gets it a mere slap on the wrist? It absolutely wasn't fair! Naruto had done nothing wrong, he had never once lost control of the Kyuubi nor had he attacked anyone. And yet, he gets more crap from everyone than Sasuke has in his whole life? …It's all just a popularity contest…

Naruto walked backwards, he was getting a running start for his grand entrance to his battle. He flared up his Chakra again and ran, just as his toes touched the edges of the building, he leapt into the air. Sakura screamed and scrunched her nose in fear, Tsunade wailed and got prepared to catch him, but stopped when she saw the red hot chakra burning off his body.

"Sakura, Back away from him!" She demanded, pushing her back whether she liked it or not.

"W-what about… Naruto?" She whispered, looking up at Naruto's slowly falling body "W-wait… N-no… its… its…!"

"Yes…" Tsunade whispered into her ear, Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.

She didn't believe it at first… More like she forced herself not to believe it. She couldn't believe Naruto had given into him… Sakura let a tear slide down her cheek as her breath hitched. "…No…"

As those soft words left her lips, Naruto landed on the ground with a flawless entry. The rain was quickly evaporating around him before it got a chance to touch his skin, his red eyes pierced into her green ones. Sakura gulped and took a step towards Naruto. "Naruto…" She gave him a tipsy smile

"T-tell everyone this is a joke… you're not really the Kyuubi… I know. The Naruto I know would never--" Naruto stopped her right there, he had had enough of her lies about knowing him and such…

"The Naruto you knew? Ha!" He said sarcastically "If you knew the real me Sakura… You would've been able to see through my smiles… to see how much I wanted to fit in and be respected…"

"Please Naruto! Don't do this!" She blurted out, trying her best to wriggle out of the Hokage's iron grasp on her shoulders

"Too late… you forced me into this…" Naruto purred out, pushing his bang back behind his ear again

"That's enough Naruto!" Naruto rose an eyebrow at Tsunade's outburst "this isn't you! You've been persuaded into doing this haven't you?!"

Naruto smirked "Persuaded is… not exactly the word _I_ would use… more like… _encouraged_…"

"Naruto…" Sakura whimpered out, finally freeing herself from Tsunade's grasp –despite the Hokage's yells for her to stop- she ran up to Naruto at an incredible pace "Naruto!" Sakura stopped at, at least, 3 meters in front of Naruto. Sakura clenched and un-clenched her fists at Naruto, her mind was fighting over whether she should beat the living crap out of him, or pity his decision to bond with the demon.

"Scared?" Naruto snickered; Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and growled, "Why would I be scared of an over-grown rat that has over-stayed his welcome far too long inside sweet Naruto-kun!" Naruto raised an eyebrow but rolled his eyes not soon after, what joke was she trying to pull?

'_**She hates you… She's just like that pitiful nurse you have just done away with… Don't believe that disgusting excuse for a kunoichi, all her words are just her way of expressing how frightened she is of you. It's all for the sake of her own life…'**_ Naruto heard the inner demon inside of himself purr

"Naruto… don't make me do this…" Sakura whispered harshly as she pulled down the ends of her gloves, after having slipped halfway up her palm from running

"Do you worst Sakura… _chan_…" He hissed out the last suffix in an evil tone

Sakura clenched her hands into tiny fists and ran for Naruto, aiming her fist at his chest. Sakura swung her fist violently at him, her fist barely made contact as she was thrown backwards on to the ground by some unknown force. Sakura propped herself up on one of her elbows and winced as she clutched the side of her head with both hands "What… was that…?"

Tsunade promptly helped Sakura up as Naruto explained, "Your hands aren't strong enough to get through my chakra…" (A.N: Is this true? If it's not… who cares?)

Sakura clamped her hand over her sore shoulder after falling on it; she limply walked over to Naruto and stared into his bloodlust filled eyes. Sakura held back her tears as she spoke to him in a cracking voice, "…Why… why did you let this happen?" Naruto stared deep into her eyes, which Sakura abruptly looked away from… it hurt too much to see his dashing blue eyes become so dark and untrusting.

"No… why did _you_ let this happen…?" Sakura snapped her head back around and stared "Eh?" Naruto's long claws scratched his left cheek in thought "…why did _everyone_ let this happen… I smiled, was polite… yet it wasn't enough, so I decided being a brat was my only other way of getting the attention I desired most… and still… I was hated even more…" Naruto's words were so incredibly heart-breaking; Sakura thought she would begin to bawl her eyes out

"Naruto-kun…" She whispered out, she let her hand drop away from her sore arm and extended it out towards Naruto, along with her other hand. "Naruto… why…" Her hands continued to reach closer until Tsunade's distant voice broke her away from her trance. She quickly retracted her fingers and arms, and shuffled away from the half-demon that was sadly, her former friend.

Naruto took a step forward and began to walk in a straightforward path, Sakura absent-mindedly sidestepped Naruto's warpath. Naruto nodded at her, Sakura quickly changed her thoughts and jumped in front of him. "Please reconsider!" Naruto continued to walk and Sakura took long steps backwards, her arms were splayed out in an attempt to make him stay put. "…Please…"

"Sakura…" He hissed out in a warning-tone, Sakura failed to notice it.

"Please… for me…?" She asked curiously, hoping it would be a weak spot for him. The look on Naruto's face clearly said it wasn't, or even close to being it

"Sa.ku.ra…" He spat out each syllable of her name in anger; Sakura nodded glumly and stepped off to the side for Naruto to move

Sakura yelled out in pain as Naruto brushed his arm against hers, a large burn marred her soft skin. She bit her lip and held the stinging flesh, "Naruto…?" her voice filled with concern and was lightly tweaked with curiosity.

"You… are not the one I'm after…" Naruto gave her a sideways glance before turning his head back 'round and continuing to walk, Sakura was quick to question his strange reply "Then… who is?"

Even though she couldn't see Naruto's face, she could feel his dark smirk penetrate her soul. "Why… that horrible Uchiha of course…"

Sakura inwardly gasped "But… why…?" Naruto sent her a dirty look and stopped walking, "Why not?! He acts like the world owes him! All everyone ever does is praise him for breathing!" Sakura was slightly taken back by his harsh words

"He left us… I can't take forgive him for that…" Naruto muttered, Sakura blinked and hissed "and you left us, you bastard! What's the difference?!"

Naruto sent her a cold glare, which stopped her angry rant dead in its tracks "Watch your tongue…" Naruto sent her one last glare and started to walk again. Tsunade reframed herself from making any unnecessary violence towards the Kyuubi vessel; She hoped to the gods that Sasuke would find someway to return their lovable blonde into their awaiting arms. "Tsunade-sama…"

Tsunade looked down at Sakura's worry-filled eyes, "Can you help him?" Tsunade thought over the question and sadly shook her head, Sakura looked down at her feet sadly "We can only hope that Sasuke can help bring him back… after all… they are best-friends… no matter how much they object to the fact…"

Sakura looked up when she registered Sasuke's chakra signal, he was panting ever so slightly and blood was coating his fingers. Sakura watched Naruto's pace quicken as he walked closer to the Uchiha. His eyes were set on the Uchiha's facial expression, he smirked at how weak he looked at the moment… despite the fact… blood was all over him. Sasuke quickly regained his posture and glared at Naruto, well what was left of him…

The heart-stopping blue eyes that him -and all his friends- had grown to love were now a terrifying red, his pupils were slit and his eyes were sub-consciously narrowed inwards as they stared at Sasuke. Sasuke cringed as he saw the hurricane of red chakra, flow around Naruto's body in a dangerous manner. It was clear, that Naruto had merged with the parasite that was caged inside him.

"Naruto… you moron" Sasuke smirked, he slid his foot across the wet grass and slipped himself into a fighting-stance "I would've thought you would've put up a better fight, to fend off the Kyuubi from taking over."

Naruto gave a hoarse laugh "What makes you think I wanted to fight him?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow but said nothing, "Kyuubi and I have reached an understanding, Uchiha…"

"An understanding?" Sasuke repeated as his smirk faltered, Naruto's smirked and nodded "Yeah, We are finally on the same page… and with his help I can get what I've always wanted…"

"And what would that be?" Sasuke asked, Naruto noted his sarcasm

"Revenge… Sweet… sweet… revenge…" he sighed happily, he scraped one of his claws under another in boredom "Oh… and… did I mention, I would kill _you_ during the process?"

Sasuke was slightly shocked at Naruto's tone, usually he would've waited for the blonde to laugh and call it a joke… but his tone said otherwise. "I'd like to see you try, idiot." Sasuke laughed it off as nothing but a petty threat, but something deep inside told him it could well be his death…

A man, identical to Naruto, popped up besides the Kyuubi-boy. Naruto held out his hand as the other began to move his own hands above it; a blue light began to flare from in-between the two men's palms. Sasuke readied himself for the Rasengan (sp?). As the other Naruto disappeared into thin air, Naruto charged forward and aimed his attack at Sasuke. "Rasengan!" The smirk on his face never seemed to falter.

Sasuke swiftly dodged the fast-paced attack; Naruto fist collided with the tree behind Sasuke. His jutsu quickly disappeared; he swung his leg around and hit Sasuke in the face. The hit was short-lived but left a nasty after-bite. Naruto leapt at him again, a wild, blood-curdling howl erupting from deep within him as Sasuke dodged his sharp claws. Sasuke stepped back and angrily threw a kunai at Naruto.

A menacing smirk graced Naruto's lips, he caught the kunai at threw it back at him. Sasuke dodged it and sent a barrage of shuriken in his direction; Naruto avoided each one with amazing grace that Sasuke was sure he had never seen before. Naruto whipped his bangs that were beside his ears, behind them and chuckled "Is that all you got? 'Cause if it is… I'm afraid you're in _deep_ trouble…"

Sasuke shuddered slightly at his tone. Sasuke looked up too see Naruto's blood red eyes boring into his coal ones, it was a tad intimidating –even for an Uchiha- too have a demon stare at you. His murderously cold eyes practically mocked Sasuke; Sasuke let his sharingan bleed into something stronger. Now three tomoes (sp?) were speckled in his sharingan-activated eyes.

Sasuke examined Naruto's eyes, there were absolutely no signs of blue and there was no spark of life that they once held. Sasuke ran towards Naruto, his katana ready, and began to swipe it at Naruto's fast moving figure. Thank god for his Sharingan, or else this fight was about as useless as Sakura putting on make-up to 'wow' Sasuke.

'_Naruto… where are you…?_'

* * *

Ok… I understand you must be mad about me not updating… (Avoids getting hit by beer can) And I know this chapter was absolutely the most suckiest and long-winded chapter in the history of me… but eh… what can you do? I suck!  
Random person: The first step is acceptance… (Walks off) 

Okie… dokie… :D Hope you enjoy (or not, Meh!)

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	18. Chapter 18

Oh… I feel bad… I forgot to mention last chapter to read: Never forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu… Oh… I feel really bad… any way… I'll feel better for mentioning it in this chapter! Anywho… ENJOY!!

**Read: Please read the story - Never Forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu, its well worth it!**

**Disclaimer** Fangirls can dream… But no, I don't own Naruto (Sob)

* * *

_-- Previously --  
_

_A menacing smirk graced Naruto's lips, he caught the kunai at threw it back at him. Sasuke dodged it and sent a barrage of shuriken in his direction; Naruto avoided each one with amazing grace that Sasuke was sure he had never seen before. Naruto whipped his bangs that were beside his ears, behind them and chuckled "Is that all you got? 'Cause if it is… I'm afraid you're in deep trouble…"_

_Sasuke shuddered slightly at his tone. Sasuke looked up too see Naruto's blood red eyes boring into his coal ones, it was a tad intimidating –even for an Uchiha- too have a demon stare at you. His murderously cold eyes practically mocked Sasuke; Sasuke let his sharingan bleed into something stronger. Now three tomoes (sp?) were speckled in his sharingan-activated eyes._

_Sasuke examined Naruto's eyes, there were absolutely no signs of blue and there was no spark of life that they once held. Sasuke ran towards Naruto, his katana ready, and began to swipe it at Naruto's fast moving figure. Thank god for his Sharingan, or else this fight was about as useless as Sakura putting on make-up to 'wow' Sasuke._

_'Naruto... where are you...?'_

* * *

Sasuke viciously swung his katana at Naruto; Naruto narrowly dodged the blade as it fell down at fast pace aiming for his skull. Naruto felt Sasuke's katana swinging in his direction, Naruto jumped to the left and Sasuke's katana swung around in a full 360º. He pulled his katana at shoulder height, jabbing it at the half-demon's chest. Naruto jumped backwards and just-barely missed his stomach from being penetrated by the sharp blade's edge.

Sasuke was getting furious, he didn't want to kill Naruto. He only wanted to put him in a state of unconsciousness, so that Tsunade could help him… and so far, it didn't look too good… Naruto didn't have a scratch on him and Sasuke was still tired from running, yep… it _defiantly_ didn't look to good. Sasuke needed to rest, even if it was just for a second… he needed to. Perhaps using his Chidori on Kabuto hadn't been the brightest idea, as he could've just as easily beaten him without wasting his chakra.

"Getting tired?" Naruto taunted as Sasuke lifted his head, still panting slightly

Naruto smirked, when Sasuke sent him a dirty glare as he snapped his katana back in its harness on his back. He unlatched the harness and threw it off to the side with a loud clatter; Naruto admired the dark-haired man's decision to drop the heavy weapon… but also pitied him. Sasuke cracked his knuckles and performed a few hand signs, "…Katon…"

Sasuke finished the last hand seal and yelled out "Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A large fireball exploded from Sasuke's mouth and headed directly at Naruto. Naruto stood his ground and let himself be engulfed by the jutsu's warmth, the jutsu continued to burn around his body in a fiery whirlwind. Sasuke let his jutsu die down, hoping he had at least burnt the horrible demon that had taken over his friend's body. Sasuke waited for the fire jutsu to fizzle out and narrowed his eyes in concentration.

Naruto chuckled as the fire disappeared from around his steaming body, Sasuke growled and remembered that Kyuubi was indeed a _fire_ fox. Sasuke had the sudden urge to throw a hissy fit like a child; Naruto took an uneven step as he approached the brooding Uchiha.

"What's wrong? You wouldn't be giving up now… _would you_?" He sung the last two words darkly and let a devilish smirk dance across his face

Sasuke smirked and pulled off his ANBU mask and let it slip from his fingers and on to the wet, dirty ground below him. Sasuke looked down at his fox-like mask as it began to fill with rain water and pour out the eye-holes, it was as if it were crying… Sasuke looked at Naruto and let his genuine smirk grace his pale lips "Naruto…"

He saw Naruto's eye contact switch from the mask to him, knowing he was listening he continued, "…Since you came so far for me…"

Sasuke laced his index fingers with a kunai, "I wont give up until that parasite is removed from your thoughts…" Sasuke smirked "Do you hear me, Kyuubi no Kitsune?! I wont let you take over my friend!"

Naruto felt the Kyuubi burn with rage at the snide comment from the last Uchiha, "Kyuubi's not happy with you…" Naruto purred

"And im not happy with him." Sasuke equipped himself with more kunai "so were even!"

Naruto let out an animalistic growl, "You'll pay for that brat!" His voice was deep and filled-with anger, Sasuke had pushed the Kyuubi into a fit of blind rage and that was not a good thing when the vessel of it is holding a grudge against you…

Sasuke readied himself as Naruto began to charge at him…

**xXx**

Neji struggled to fight off the many ninja that were surrounding him, it wasn't their strength he was worried about… heck! They were quite weak compared to him; it was the sheer quantity of all the shinobi surrounding him.

He had told Hinata it would be better for him to fight alone, while she would fight alongside her friends. She had hesitantly agreed to the deal, but now… even he was starting to realize his stupidity. He didn't need his Byakugan to realize he was out-matched; another ninja threw himself at Neji. Neji swung his chakra-glowing palm around and hit him on his chest; the man coughed up some blood and fell to the ground in pain.

Neji swung around on his heel, dagger in hand, and stabbed another ninja who was falling from a tree branch. Blood sprinkled over his mask, as the person fell down on their head, breaking their neck in the process. Neji's mask was in the shape of a wild cat, it had red painted rings around eyes his eyes would be and a red streak down from the middle of its forehead to the tip of its small nose. Neji was embarrassed to wear it, but he still wore it with pride.

Neji hissed when he became pain stricken. Neji fell to his knees and pushed out his hands, Neji cautiously looked at his back to see a large onyx kunai petruding out from his back, he could feel that it was lodged in his shoulder blade. Neji ripped it out of his flesh, ignoring the painful sensation on his back, and threw it at the ninja.

Neji's aim was perfect as it sliced through his skin on the shinobi's chest and had penetrated his heart, he lay withering on the ground until he stopped moving. Neji stood up only to be pushed down by another ninja; Neji quickly retaliated by using his chakra to send the young kunoichi flying into the trees. She grunted and stopped moving; hopefully she'd be unconscious for a while.

It only took a matter of seconds before Neji was tackled to the ground by at least 5-6 ninja, shinobi and kunoichi; they started to stab his back and ribs with their sharp weaponry. Neji struggled under the weight of them all, and shifted endlessly as he tried to free himself.

"On the count of three, let go of him!" A voice boomed from over his head

Neji curiously looked up and saw a sound-nin standing in front of him with a stupid smirk, Neji struggled to free himself as the ninja slowly counted. "One…" Neji freed one of his hands, and pushed off a few ninja to the right of him "Two…" He snapped his head back; his hands were burning with chakra as he pushed off all the ninja. They flew in every direction from Neji's force, "Three!" In a matter of seconds, the man performed several hand signs. Neji leapt off in any direction as the jutsu slammed into the pile of sore ninja.

Neji mumbled a slight appreciation to his luck, if he hadn't gotten out when he did… well, he would have a lot more trouble trying to fight off the shinobi and kunoichi. Neji cursed when he saw the ninja's reforming, with or without wounds they had managed to get up and continue to fight the Byakugan user. Neji cursed loudly this time when a large group of the ninja he was up against, formed a tight circle around him.

Neji hit an on coming ninja, who threw herself at him with a high shriek, not the best battle tactic… Neji began to feel worried fir a while, he had never truly felt worried over something, but this… could be an exception. The quantity of ninja seemed to increase each time he brought someone down.

"Need help?" A female voice emitted from above him, Neji looked upwards and smirked

Tenten was on a tree branch above Neji, her legs were curled around the branch so she wouldn't fall as she was swinging on it upside down. He could tell she was smiling, even though the mask covered her face. It was mixed between a rabbit and a cat, or something like that. It had the same look as Neji's mask except it had long ears instead of short, and it had a red stripe across it's nose.

"Did I miss anything, Neji?" She flipped her feet over her head and landed on the ground beside Neji

"No, nothing…" Neji smirked when Tenten sent him a knowing glance

Tenten unclipped the large scroll on her back, and grabbed it in one swift motion of her hands. She slid open the scroll and a barrage of ninja weaponry flew out, the kunai and others sharp objects stabbed them fiercely and took them down for the count. Neji was impressed at her technique, it was fast and accurate and not to mention took a lot of ninja down at one time. Neji smirked and turned back towards the shinobi and kunoichi on his side, they looked infuriated by his unexpected help from Tenten.

"Byakugan!" Neji's voice echoed as his Byakugan was activated

They all shifted under the nerve-wracking watch of the Hyuuga's white eyes, Neji caught sight of all their hearts beats increase in speed from fright. Neji casually extended his arm out; he clenched his hands into a fist and clamped it tightly. A shinobi fell to his knee's and began to heave vast amounts of blood from his mouth, the surrounding ninja's stepped away from him in fright.

A trembling kunoichi ran off into the forest, as Neji clenched his hand over another ninja's heart with his Byakugan. He let out a shrill girly scream and started to claw at his shirt, trying to get into his chest and ease his pain. Neji started to disable and kill most of the ninja, while Tenten mostly killed her victims by hitting their vital organs with her weapons. In a matter of 5 minutes, all of the opposing ninja were dead or had scrambled away in fear with minor injuries.

Neji sighed and turned to face Tenten, who was casually putting her scroll back on her back, "Thanks" He extended a hand in gratitude, which his teammate politely shook. "No problem!"

"We should go help the others," Neji stated quietly, his white eyes scanning the area for anyone he could recognize

**xXx**

Sasuke dodged Naruto's foot that was swinging for his head; he flipped over Naruto's head and kicked his feet from underneath him. Naruto fell to the ground but quickly pulled himself back up and scratched his claws over Sasuke's face. Sasuke winced slightly and tried his best to wipe off the blood; Naruto took another swing at Sasuke by grabbing a kunai out of Sasuke's pocket and making an attempt to stab him. Sasuke saw it coming and dodged the flying kunai, by jumping into the tree above Naruto.

He threw a huge shuriken towards Naruto and jumped out of his spot when Naruto caught it and sent it back towards him, Sasuke cringed when the shuriken sliced through the tree's and thick leaves, if he hadn't of moved it would've been him instead of the poor tree. Sasuke glared at Naruto who sent him a smug look. Sasuke quickly raided his pockets before pulling out a bundle of ninja string; Naruto examined the string with a smirk. (A.N: could some one tell me the proper term for this so-called 'ninja string', it there is one…)

Before Naruto could blink, Sasuke had wrapped the string around Naruto's body and the tree behind him, at least 40 times, and was watching Naruto from his same position he was in mere seconds ago. His look was completely self-satisfied with his work, he tugged on the string so it tightened the hold he had. Sasuke bite the string and held it securely in his mouth as he started to perform hand seals.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow "Another fire jutsu?" Naruto clicked his tongue in fake disappointment "Didn't you learn from your last experience?"

Sasuke ignored the question as he finished performing the seals "_Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu!_"

Fire emitted and flew down the string and clung on to Naruto's body, Naruto yelped out in pain, the fire was far more intense than he had suspected. Naruto could tell that Sasuke had used his chakra to help hold him down, he struggled to free himself from the string and hissed when Sasuke tightly the string again.

Seconds went like minutes…

Minutes went like days…

Sasuke finally let his jutsu stop, the fire slowly fizzled out to reveal a very burnt Naruto. His skin was singed and red, his hair was burnt on the edges and it was now a dirty blonde. Naruto's skin turned back to his normal tanned shade in a matter of seconds, Sasuke noticed the large bleeding and burnt mark on his arm where most of his jutsu had made contact with. Sasuke's chakra receded on the strings and Naruto hastily broke free of them, Sasuke could swear he saw Naruto's eyes catch fire from rage.

"Sasuke…" Naruto seethed, his long nails (claws) dug into his skin and drew blood (in which the Kyuubi healed with ease).

Sasuke watched in awe as the wound on his arm healed rapidly, there was now just a thin faint line were the gaping wound once was. Naruto looked enraged, if looks could kill… Sasuke would have died over 6'000 times by now. Sasuke looked back at Naruto with a look that clearly said: 'you brought this on yourself', Naruto glared harshly and a clone of himself appeared beside him. Sasuke raised his eyebrows; he didn't hear Naruto call out the jutsu… he shrugged it off as his attention was directed back at Naruto.

Naruto extended his out towards the clone; his palm facing upwards, the other rapidly swerved his hands over Naruto's until a blue ball began glowing in between them. The blue ball of chakra glowed swiftly and beautifully in his hand, it was larger then normal so Sasuke knew it had something to do with the nine-tailed fox's chakra. The shadow clone didn't disappear like Sasuke had thought it would, instead it had stayed its ground with his hands near Naruto's Rasengan.

Sasuke stared at Naruto with half-mast eyes, he was the least bit interested in his attack right now… although he had to admit, it did look rather threatening compared to his Chidori. Naruto's eyes narrowed inwardly as a malevolent smirk played across his lips, he glanced slightly to the side and looked at his shadow clone for a fraction of a second and quickly turned his attention back to Sasuke. Sasuke never tore his gaze away from Naruto; he kept his eyes fixed on either Naruto or his clone, as they both were equally as dangerous as one another.

"Gonna attack yet? Or are you _scared_?" Sasuke chuckled but was surprised when Naruto chuckled alongside with him

"What's that? Eager to die, are you Sasuke?" Naruto asked as his eyes looked up into Sasuke's, as they locked gaze

Sasuke smirked at the comment, but felt something in the pit of his stomach that told him, it could well be his death… Sasuke abruptly shook off those horrid thoughts as Naruto and the clone started charging for him, he gasped slightly at the speed of them. Sasuke jumped awkwardly to the side as he tried to escape the revamped Rasengan, that Naruto and his clone were holding. "Oodama Rasengan!"(1)

Sasuke felt pain descend upon his body, it felt like his left arm had been cut off. Sasuke unwillingly looked down at his arm, luckily it was still intact, but Naruto's hand had been slammed into his shoulder. Sasuke felt his blood leaking out, he watched it caress Naruto wrist and then gently pour on to the tree and ground below them. He could still feel Naruto's Rasengan burning inside his shoulder; Naruto forcefully ripped his hand from Sasuke's shoulder with a sinister smirk. He was disappointed that his attack had missed his heart, but at least now he could make Sasuke suffer instead of making it quick and painless, as he had first intended.

Sasuke winced and coughed up some blood as he fell to his knees, thank god it was a thick and wide branch that he had chosen to perch on. Naruto grabbed a heap of Sasuke's hair and pulled on it so he could Sasuke's pitiful face, Sasuke cracked open his eyes and saw the uneasy look on Naruto's face. Sasuke's eyes widened when he swore he caught sight of blue, he would bet his life on it, that he had seen blue in Naruto's dead red eyes. Naruto shook his head when he felt like letting the Uchiha live, this was what he wanted… wasn't it?

"Naruto? Can you hear me?" Naruto quickly dismissed those thoughts when Sasuke spoke to him

"What? You think I'm deaf?!" Naruto spat out, wrenching Sasuke's hair upwards

"Hn. I said _Naruto_… Not _demon_" Sasuke smirked when Naruto growled out in resentment

Naruto tugged Sasuke's hair and slammed his knee into Sasuke's face, a sickening crunch sounded as Naruto broke Sasuke's nose with his kneecap. Sasuke's body fell backwards and slipped off the branch, Sasuke was in far too much pain to realize, until his body came into contact harshly with the ground below. Another sickening crunch emitted from the Uchiha's body, this time his shoulder. His flesh and bones were still weak from Naruto's powerful Rasengan, made his bones shatter from collision with the ground. Sasuke's breath hitched in pain as he cringed and forced him self not to look at his arm, Naruto jumped of the tree branch and landed perfectly in front of Sasuke. Sasuke peeled his eyes open to see Naruto slowly advancing on him, when had he, Sasuke _Uchiha_, become so weak? Or better yet… when had Naruto become so strong?

"Stop there, Uzumaki…" A strong voice scolded Naruto as he casually stopped himself from walking any further

Naruto didn't need to turn around to know who it was… "Shukaku" Sasuke didn't need to see Naruto's face to see his smirk; he could practically feel his smirk…

"Your fight is with me now Uzumaki" Gaara's pale emerald eyes clashed with Naruto's horrifying red ones, Gaara addressed him by his last name to prove he meant business

"What makes you think I'll--" Gaara rudely interrupted Naruto

"_Because_… Temari has already gotten the Uchiha…" Naruto looked over and, surely enough, Temari had the struggling and protesting Uchiha over her shoulder, Naruto let a small laugh escape through his lips

"I see…" Naruto looked back at the other demon, venom was seeping into his stare

Temari hurriedly carried Sasuke over to the safety of Sakura, Tsunade and other various medical nins. She needn't explain how Sasuke got his injuries; they had all been watched from afar and in horror at Naruto's vehemence to kill Sasuke. Temari carefully laid Sasuke down on the prepared bed; Sasuke took a sharp intake of air from the searing pain to his shoulder and his throbbing face. "Sasuke-kun…" Sakura asked carefully, Sasuke sent her a death glare but it was because of his annoyance at himself and the pain he was suffering, "c-could you please get into a sitting position…?" She slightly faltered under the intense glare

Sasuke nodded carefully and forcefully wriggled himself up, with the help of only one of his arms, into a sitting position, Sakura winced inwardly at his wound but none-the-less began to heal it. Sasuke went into his own thoughts as Sakura worked her magic on his arm and Tsunade helped to heal his broken nose.

'_I… understand it now… the reason why… the reason, I jumped at the opportunity for him to live with me… the reason… I wanted to fight with him, and bring back that charming smile I miss so much… the reason… I… fell apart without him by my side all those years…_'

Sasuke turned his head, despite Tsunade's objections… that seemed so far way right now, and looked out upon the fiery match that was about to take underway between the two demons, Tsunade grasped his chin and directed his face back in her direction and scolded him before starting to heal his nose again

'_The reason is…_' Sasuke closed his eyes as he mumbled those last words… those dreaded last words that he had hidden away from everyone… even himself all those years after the devastation of his family…

"…I love him…"

* * *

**(1) **Ok… I kinda missed this episode… and I didn't know whether he said **Oodama Rasengan **or just plain** Rasengan… **so… if you know… please tell me :3 

Wow… I totally jinxed myself during this… I thought 'wow I'll have this up in 3 days max.' and then… the distractions came… oh well, Oukoku Hatsu has been keeping me company during my writing process! Thank you:3 …Haha… during half of me writing this, my friend and I put on eyeliner to look like Gaara… and then it wouldn't come off D: How unlucky are we…?

I just had to put Neji and Gaara in here, I'm literally on Neji and Gaara high! No… I wont pair them up… I just love 'em is all…

**PLEASE PLEASE PLASE REVIEW! I WANT MORE REVIEWS! I am thankful to those who review regularly but... PLEASE REVIEW!**

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	19. Chapter 19

_**Thank you for all the reviews!**_ I love you all so… much!!! HUGS AND KISSES FOR ALL!!!!! (Everyone runs away) oh… ok… D:

**Please Read: Never Forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – it's a fabulous story**

**Disclaimer** I didn't own it in the last chapter… so I don't own it now (sadly)

* * *

_-- Previously --_

'_I… understand it now… the reason why… the reason, I jumped at the opportunity for him to live with me… the reason… I wanted to fight with him, and bring back that charming smile I miss so much… the reason… I… fell apart without him by my side all those years…'_

_Sasuke turned his head, despite Tsunade's objections… that seemed so far way right now, and looked out upon the fiery match that was about to take underway between the two demons, Tsunade grasped his chin and directed his face back in her direction and scolded him before starting to heal his nose again_

'_The reason is…' Sasuke closed his eyes as he mumbled those last words… those dreaded last words that he had hidden away from everyone… even himself all those years after the devastation of his family…_

"

* * *

Gaara stared at Naruto with a venomous glare, Naruto merely smirked at the dark look he was receiving thinking it was a cute gesture of hate. Gaara crossed his arms over his chest in minor protection; Naruto did the same but just to be smart. Gaara didn't seem amused by Naruto's display, he grunted and took a dangerous step towards Naruto.

"Why did you give into the Kyuubi, Uzumaki?" Gaara asked coldly

"Hn. What kind of question is that? You out of all people must know what it's like to be hated… but, now I want _my_ revenge… the thing _I've_ needed and wanted since forever…" Naruto muttered loudly

"You sound just like me… before the _true…_ Naruto woke me up and showed me, it wasn't right…" Gaara said matter-of-factly

"Look at me." Naruto jabbered a thumb at his own head as a gesture towards himself "this _is_… the real me! I've hidden this part of me away for so long… but now Kyuubi explained how I could have… _so much more_…" Naruto purred out his last three words

Gaara snorted sarcastically and sent Naruto a menacing stare, "well… we'll just have to see about that, Uzumaki…"

Gaara slipped the top off his gourd (sp?) as Naruto bared his large claws; sand began to swirl around Gaara's body in a protective spin. Naruto's ruby eyes stared into Gaara's deadly emerald ones, Gaara didn't falter once under the harsh stare of the Kyuubi-boy. Naruto smirked and spoke up "I'll give you one last chance to run, the Uchiha is the only one I want to hurt"

Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow but said nothing in response, Naruto chuckled and ran a hand through his blood-tainted hair "alright then…" Naruto ran for Gaara with a fist ready.

Gaara's sand instantly flared up to protect him from Naruto's punch, Naruto's fist slammed into the sand with his full force. Naruto's hands began to bleed as he applied more pressure to his punch; his fist slowly began to penetrate the sand around Gaara. Naruto forced his hand further into the sand as Gaara stayed his normal apathetic look; Naruto's fist was only just inches from Gaara's cheek. Naruto's fist slammed harshly into Gaara's cheekbone and mouth, Gaara flew backwards by the sheer force of Naruto's fist as Naruto fell backwards from Gaara's strong barrier of sand.

As soon as their backs hit the ground they jumped back up, Gaara smoothly wiped the slowly leaking blood from his bottom lip. Naruto clenched his hands into strong fists and charged for the other demon, Gaara. Gaara, once again, stood his ground, waiting for Naruto to hit him. Naruto's right fist slipped passed Gaara's neck as Gaara tipped his head to the side to avoid it, Kyuubi might be controlling Naruto, but he's still as headstrong as ever. Naruto's left fist missed its target as well; Gaara was daintily avoiding being hit by Naruto's fists of rage.

Naruto's fist smashed itself up against Gaara's sand barrier; Naruto cringed slightly but continued to push through it. Naruto felt his skin crack from the pressure of his fingers, Naruto pushed himself away from Gaara, his hand feeling as if it would break any minute. Naruto's hand healed instantly thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra; he clenched and unclenched his fist to see if this skin was strong enough.

Naruto performed a few hand seals and called out "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and five identical shadow clones of Naruto appeared either side of him and before Gaara could blink, they had disappeared. Gaara casually looked around for any sign of them, not that he couldn't feel their chakra; but he wanted to find the real Naruto so he wouldn't kill him by accident.

A fast blur zoomed away from its position in the tree and stood casually in front of Gaara, it's hips were swung off to the side and it's hand was planted on it's hip. Gaara instantly knew it was a clone, its canine teeth were slightly shorter than Naruto's and it didn't hold the dark aurora the real demon had. Gaara's gaze quickly diverted to the sand below the clone and back at the shadow clone, it hadn't moved an inch since it had appeared in front of him.

Gaara slowly raised his hand and the sand rose up behind the clone, Gaara stopped moving his hand at mid point. The clone seemed a little confused by his movement. Gaara curled in his fingers so the sat on his palm as his sand wrapped around the clones body. The clone struggled wildly beneath the gradually constricting sand; Gaara clamped his hand closed into a tight fist.

With a small 'pop' sound, the clone disappeared only leaving a cloud of smoke behind, "one…" Gaara counted out loud and dropped his hand, making the sand fall to the ground in a large heap.

Three clones jumped out from the trees and bushes, surrounding Gaara in a triangle. Gaara looked behind him at the two clones and then back at the one in front of him, they all ran towards Gaara at they same time. The Shukaku vessel took a small step to the side, causing all the clones to run right past him. They all let out a frustrated growl and headed for him again, Gaara turned around hastily on his heel and held up his palm.

The first clone ran straight into the wall of sand causing it to pop and disappear into thin air, the other two screeched to a halt knowing what would happen if they two would do the same, "…two…" Gaara wrapped his sand around them quicker than you could say 'Pie'; one shadow clone rudely pushed the other into the sand as it tried to run away.

Gaara eerily tilted his head to the side and his sand rushed up to the clone's feet, binding itself around the clone's ankles and dragging it back forcefully. The clone inside the sand exploded while the other one was thrown into a tree and imploded on contact with it, Gaara easily had kept his impassive expression during the short battle "…three… four…"

The last one fell down from the tree, it didn't take its time like the others as it charged for Gaara straight away. It swerved under Gaara's fist and punched into the rock-hard sand, it punched the sand repeatedly as it ran from side to side around Gaara. The redhead sighed angrily and punched the clone and it disappeared when Gaara's fist crashed through it, "and five…" a sharp blow to the back of his head caused Gaara to turn around at an amazing speed.

Gaara aimed a punch at the offender's head; the opposing attacker grabbed his fist as they countered it by punching Gaara in the stomach. Gaara wheezed and coughed up some blood, but not before smacking the other with his fist under his chin. He fell backwards and rubbed his sore chin, Gaara held and rubbed his tender stomach. Gaara swung his fist forward and it collided with his opponent's forehead, he shook under the forceful hit until he flew backwards into the trees… he imploded and Gaara took a step back in confusion "…six? I only saw five…"

Gaara turned around and saw the other demon-boy nonchalantly leaning up against a tree trunk, Naruto clapped sarcastically and chuckled "you were so caught up in attacking those clones, you didn't hear me summon up another one…"

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Naruto darkly, "I see… that was well thought out…" Gaara to some extent complimented the other vessel

One side of Naruto's lips twitched upwards and into a mild smirk, he used his shoulder to push himself up and off the tree. He cracked his knuckles and promptly stretched his arms, Gaara waited patiently for him to finish. Naruto crossed his arms and approached Gaara's stiff form; he licked his canines evilly as if he were a vampire. Gaara narrowed his eyes in silent rage, he was getting angry with Naruto's stalling "So are we going to fight one on one or not, Uzumaki?"

"Eager to die? Hn… Just like that pitiful Uchiha…" Naruto sighed and snaked a hand through his dirty blonde hair

**xXx**

"What was that Sasuke-kun?" She looked up at him causally from behind her bangs before lowering her head again

Sasuke shook his head; acting like those words had never passed through his lips. Sakura silently accepted his answer; she was too busy using her chakra to heal him to worry about it now. Tsunade yanked his face back to look at her, she had heard what he said was too angry right now to bother. "Stay still!" Her hands glowed as they were placed over his nose again. Sasuke scowled slightly but let it go.

Sasuke sighed and craned his head over to the side, he cringed and turned back the position had sent a jolt of pain throughout his neck. He grunted and held his neck with his good arm, Sakura's eyes looked up at him with a worried stare but she didn't say anything about it. His shoulder was starting to feel better so he decided to keep still for now.

He shifted his gaze so he could see Naruto and Gaara; they were too far away for Sasuke to hear what they were saying or see what they were saying to each other. Sasuke silently activated his sharingan so he could read their lips and understand what they were talking about, although a slap to the head stopped him from seeing anything. He abruptly turned his head around and glared daggers at Tsunade for slapping his across the back of his head, "What was that for?!"

"Don't use that! You need to conserve your energy instead of wasting it on useless nonsense!" Tsunade scolded, trying to go back to healing his nose but Sasuke angrily pushed her hands away and he slowly deactivated his sharingan

"It's not useless nonsense!" Sasuke instantly defended, Tsunade raised an eyebrow "How so?"

"Well! …Umm… err…" Sasuke growled in frustration at her logic "I don't know, ok!"

"Good! Then _SIT STILL_!" she sent him a lighthearted glare and continued to heal his nose, it was taking far too long then it should've been

Sasuke nodded and sat as still as he could, occasionally wriggling himself into a more comfortable position. Tsunade guided her chakra-glowing hand over Sasuke's broken nose, while her other hand was now holding his nose in its correct position. Sasuke inwardly winced and sucked in his breath when he heard the unnatural crack of his nose being fixed, the pain slowly subsided when Tsunade finished healing it. Sasuke scrunched and un-scrunched his nose to see if it hurt, which funnily it didn't, Sasuke nodded at Tsunade in appreciation.

Tsunade snorted at his lack of manners and turned to help Sakura with his shoulder, Sasuke sighed and decided this was the best time to think over his feelings for Naruto. Why hadn't he seen it before? Naruto had always been his best friend and he never really gave any of his other friends 'pet' names, like he did with Naruto… '_God! I've had been so blind!_'

Sasuke growled silently, he craned his neck to the left and I small 'crick' sounded and he did the same for the other side of his neck. Sasuke sighed and leaned back into the warm seat, he wriggled into a more comfortable position –despite the annoyed looks from both female helping him- and waited for them to finish healing his shoulder. Sakura looked up at him through her bangs and sighed she knew something was on his mind; she stopped healing his shoulder and stood up. Sakura softly dusted her skirt off and looked to Tsunade "Tsunade-sama…"

"Alright, alright…" she said with a small wave of her hand

"Thank you" Sakura slipped over to the other side of Sasuke, she held down the back of her skirt as she sat down. Sasuke instantly avoided eye contact with her, knowing what she was going to say "Sasuke-kun…"

"No. I don't want to talk about it" He hissed and resumed his apathetic look

Sakura gave him a sympathetic look and sighed, she placed her hand over his in a friendly gesture and sent him a small smile "Well… when you are… im here to listen…"

She stood up and resumed to heal his arm, Sasuke looked down to the two female ninja. Tsunade's eyes wandered up to his with a look that said 'spoilt brat' when Sasuke looked away she decided it was best not to ask.

After about 5 more minutes of using their chakra to heal his shoulder, Tsunade stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow, as did Sakura. Sasuke looked at Tsunade expectantly, "Can I fight now, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade shook her head "No--"

"Why not?!" Sasuke yelled and hissed when pain tugged at his sore shoulder, he held it close and hissed again in pain

"Shut up and I'll explain!" She growled, Sasuke immediately quieted down "Now… our chakra isn't good enough to heal it all, we've done our best but, now you have to wait for it to heal on its own"

"And just _how_ long will _that_ take?" he growled darkly, his fists clenching by his sides

"If you keep squirming a day--" Sasuke yelled in between her sentence

"A fucking day?!" Tsunade sent his a glare and continued

"_**But**_… if your lucky… if can take, three hours… that's if you stop moving and RELAX!" Sasuke visibly flinched and melted uncomfortably in the bed "Don't worry… Gaara won't hurt Naruto…"

That eased his soul a little bit… but not much. Sasuke sighed and wiggled into a more comfortable position in the chair, he tried his best to relax but so much was buzzing around in his mind like an angry bee. Sasuke shifted slightly so he was resting on his good arm, all he could think of was Naruto… Naruto this… Naruto that… how he wanted to see his dazzling smile and his mesmerizing blue eyes again… they were just so gorgeous they could make your heart stop if you looked into them. Before he knew it… he was falling asleep, darkness was taking over his thoughts and feelings until he felt nothing anymore…

With one last thought, he let himself be carried away into the slumber he needed so much…

'_Naruto… Please come back… Please…_'

* * *

Well… I got a bit lazy near the end… But you can't blame a girl for trying…  
(Random reader: Yes we can!)  
(Shoots) Shush Larry! Anywho… Once again, _**thanks to all those lovely people who reviewed last time! If you could review again, it would make me sooooo happy! **_So…

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I want more reviews, so please review!**

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	20. Chapter 20

Wooooo more reviews means- more hugs and kisses!!!  
**Random reader:** QUICKLY! EVERYBODY OUT THE DOOR! (Everyone runs away screaming)  
oh… D: Anyway… _**Thanks again for the encouraging and fabulous reviews!**_

**Please read: Never Forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu- It is well worth it!**

**Disclaimer** If I did own Naruto… It would be known as a laughingstock…

* * *

_--Previously--_

"_**But**__… if your lucky… if can take, three hours… that's if you stop moving and RELAX!" Sasuke visibly flinched and melted uncomfortably in the bed "Don't worry… Gaara won't hurt Naruto…"_

_That eased his soul a little bit… but not much. Sasuke sighed and wiggled into a more comfortable position in the chair, he tried his best to relax but so much was buzzing around in his mind like an angry bee. Sasuke shifted slightly so he was resting on his good arm, all he could think of was Naruto… Naruto this… Naruto that… how he wanted to see his dazzling smile and his mesmerizing blue eyes again… they were just so gorgeous they could make your heart stop if you looked into them. Before he knew it… he was falling asleep, darkness was taking over his thoughts and feelings until he felt nothing anymore…_

_With one last thought, he let himself be carried away into the slumber he needed so much…_

'_Naruto… Please come back… Please…'_

* * *

"Come on Shukaku… break through that weak vessel of yours…" Naruto taunted the other demon

Gaara felt his demon react to Naruto's words, it rumbled wildly inside of him. Gaara used a well thought out threat to make him stop making a fuss (use your imagination), Naruto could sense the demon was hastily trying to make Gaara give in. "I don't need the demon to beat you, Uzumaki…" Gaara sneered coldly; Naruto let out a bitter chuckle and took a step back from the redhead.

"All talk and no action…" Naruto animatedly shook his head at Gaara "…sad"

Gaara shot his hand out and picked his sand up from the ground, it twirled around and lengthened itself. Naruto quickly dodged the sharp sand as it zoomed past his hip; Gaara used his hand as a control for the sand, making it follow Naruto around. Naruto swung around a tree branch and flipped on to another one when the sand took another jab at his waist, he back flipped on to the branch behind him when Gaara's sand attacked again. He jumped off to the side and the sand ploughed into the thick tree trunk, Naruto smirked when the sand reformed and went for him again.

Naruto fell to the ground and landed on all fours, he rolled out of the way and jumped up when the sand still persisted in marring his flesh. Naruto cringed lightly when the razor-sharp and rough sand ran over his skin; a small 1-inch deep graze marked his forearm. It healed instantly before the sand even had a chance to get him again, Gaara twisted his hand and the sand twirled around and attacked Naruto again. It made a stabbing motion towards Naruto's chest; Naruto continued to jump back and away from Gaara's deadly sand attacks. Naruto's leaps were graceful and well calculated, Gaara's sand didn't seem to be inflicting any damage nor was Naruto faltering as he leapt out of the way of Gaara's every movement.

Gaara watched in slight amazement at Naruto's speed, Gaara let his sand recede knowing it wouldn't be helping him much at the moment. Naruto wouldn't admit the he was glad that Gaara had stopped the sand, but he would admit to being somewhat pleased with the redhead's decision. Naruto hopped down from the tree's limb and landed on the squelchy ground, he lazily strolled up to Gaara and walked to a stop in front of him. He tilted his hips to the side and planted his hands on them; Gaara crossed his arms and stood slanted with his foot sliding off to the side. "Giving up already?" Naruto murmured, Gaara snapped at the demon-boy's snide comment

Gaara finally took a leap at Naruto, he jumped forward and Naruto jumped backwards. Naruto bent backwards and placed his hands on the ground and kicked his feet upwards, his feet slammed into Gaara's stomach and threw him further as his feet flipped back as well. Naruto landed on all fours as Gaara collided with the trees. The trees clattered to the ground and fell on Gaara's body, Naruto smirked as he stood up, and he leisurely stalked over to the fallen tree trunks. Naruto curtly nudged Gaara's visible foot with his. Gaara shot out from the logs and slammed his fist into Naruto's cheek; Naruto stumbled backwards and fell over as he held his face in pain.

Gaara rubbed his sore arms and shoulders, Naruto wiped the blood that was trickling from his lip and glared at Gaara. Gaara's sand slipped around Naruto's foot and threw him into a long slender tree; Naruto cringed and let out a soft wail of pain. Gaara threw Naruto back through the pain to his back crashed into another tree, Naruto coughed out blood and choked out a yell of discomfort. Gaara continued to smash Naruto in between the two trees; he was quickly becoming addicted to hearing Naruto's screams for him to stop and seeing his blood splatter everywhere. Gaara finally slammed Naruto's body into the ground from a great height; the world shuddered when Naruto's limp body collided with the ground.

Gaara smiled wickedly as he slid Naruto's body across the ground and lifted him into the air. Naruto's skin was splattered in blood, his arms dangled in the air as Gaara's sand held him upside down by his foot and his eyes were closed as he painfully inhaled air. Gaara gasped, Naruto's eyes were blue… Gaara gently let him back down on to the ground, "Naruto is that you?"

"I… don't want to fight anymore…" He whimpered, wiping the blood and tears away

"Alright…" Gaara looked away and sighed

Gaara turned back to face Naruto but a sharp blow to his chin sent him flying into the first tree Naruto had crashed into when being thrown around like a rag doll by him. Gaara shook his head and looked back at Naruto, he was laughing mercilessly at Gaara's pain and his eyes had returned back to their poisonous red shade. Gaara snarled at Naruto, it was all an illusion he had done. Naruto's laughter died down into a sinister chuckle, Gaara sent him a death glare and cracked his back into place.

"You fell for it… god your so weak…" He said in between chuckles, before his laughter finally died down completely

Gaara jumped forward and pounced on Naruto, Naruto kicked his feet upwards before Gaara had a chance to grab a hold of him. Gaara soared high in the air from Naruto's attack, Gaara held out his arm and splayed his fingers, his curled his fingers inwards and his sand flew up in the air with him. He bent his arm in and then straightened it out in one fowl swoop; his sand did the same motion and headed straight towards Naruto's body. Naruto rolled out the way before the sand had a chance to touch him; Gaara fell back down and landed impeccably on the ground where Naruto once was.

His sand rapidly poured out of his gourd as he repeated made attempts to attack Naruto, Naruto did back flips out of the sand's attacking range. He stopped but slipped off to the side when Gaara's sand smashed into the place he previously was, Naruto sighed in relief and wiped away the slowly gathering sweat off his brow. Gaara bent his fingers into a fist and unbent them; his sand opened up beneath Naruto and swallowed him.

Naruto let a small yelp leave his lips before the sand engulfed him; Gaara closed the sand making escape near on impossible. Gaara slowly closed his hand, turning it into half a fist. Naruto was squirming and yelling beneath the slowly tightening sand, Gaara continued to close his hand into a fist and watched his sand get tighter and tighter. Naruto took small sharp breaths as the air inside the air was becoming limited; Naruto slammed his fist into the sand only to make his fist bleed.

Gaara narrowed his eyes and clenched his hand into a final fist, Gaara inwardly gasped when his sand began to waver and melt. Heat was making the sand turn into a crystal-like form, it was smoldering as Naruto's fiery chakra was burned it harshly. The sand became clear and shiny, as it turned into glass; Gaara let his hand fall limp to his side. Naruto's eyes fluttered open and looked around him; he tapped the glass softly with his long claw.

Gaara took a step back and started at the glass, it shimmered beautifully under the little light there was and the raindrops dripped off the edges gracefully. Naruto dug his claw into the glass creating a small indent; he dug his nail around so it marred the glass with a perfect circle. Naruto pulled back his arm and clamped his hand into a fist; he threw it forward and caused the glass to smash open. Gaara took a step back again so the glass wouldn't scar his soft flesh.

Glass rained down around Naruto, cutting his bronze skin only to have it healed quickly but the Kyuubi. Naruto bent down and pulled out a jagged, long piece of glass that was inside his foot, the cut was short but deep and was healing slower than his other wounds. He licked his blood from the glass carefully with his moist tongue; he was becoming drunk on the taste of blood. It was deliciously intoxicating as his ran over his tongue, he placed his lips on the glass and began trying to suck off the bittersweet taste of his blood. Gaara watched in awe as Naruto lapped up the last remains of his blood, Naruto carelessly chucked the shard behind him and looked down to see his fully healed foot.

Gaara looked at the smug looking blonde in front of him, he sent him a skin crawling glare although Naruto wasn't affected by the terrifying look "This is going to be harder than I thought… I'll stall him for as long as I can Uchiha… you do the rest…" he muttered darkly under his breath as Naruto took a jump to try and pounce on him…

**xXx**

Kiba protectively stood by Hinata; she had joined him in battle after Neji had left. Hinata's Byakugan was activated as she was attacking her victims from the inside and out, she slammed her palm into a ninja's chest making him wheeze and sharply inhale his breath before he finally lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Kiba kept taking sideways glances at his girlfriend, if anyone dared mar her beautiful porcelain skin… he would make sure they suffered every little bit before they died. He and Akamaru were fighting side by side; they had definitely used their share of terrifying canine-related attacks already.

Not to far away from the two were Ino, Shikamaru and Sai. They were all fighting diligently and fast-paced, Ino was brilliant when it came to using her kunai's as weaponry as was Sai. Although Shikamaru was more of the lazy fighter between the three, anyone who was in his view was dead within seconds, he didn't want to waste needless time making them suffer or waiting to hear their petrified screams. Ino flung a shuriken from between her two fingers and stabbed a missing nin right between the eyes, sending them to the ground.

Sai held three kunai in between his fingers, he ran and threw them in both directions, the three in his right hand nailed an oncoming ninja and so did the others on another ninja to the left. The kunai had accurately punctured their chest and all the way through to their hearts, they had ripped the weapons from their chest to leave a huge weeping wound in its presence, they died from critical blood loss. Sai smirked victoriously and stared back at his others friends, Ino was fairing rather well as was Shikamaru, Kiba and Hinata.

Akamaru took a vicious bite out of a missing nin's shoulder, the large chunk of flesh fell to the ground as the shinobi ran away screaming and prepared to die in a _very_ painful way. Kiba petted Akamaru's long pure white fur with a toothy grin "Good boy" He laughed silently and turned back to see if Hinata was safe and, of course, she was. He stood defensively by her side; he could hear another horde of rampant missing nin rioting through out the forest. Kiba slide his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side, her Byakugan disappeared from within her eyes and was instantly replaced with a dark blush "K-Kiba-kun?"

"More ninja are coming this way, get ready to attack them instead," He said, placing a small chaste kiss on her forehead. Her blush darkened but she nodded and turned to where the ninja were heading from and activated her Byakugan again as Kiba released his hold on her waist, He looked back over to his other friends and alerted them of the newfound ninja "More missing nin are coming in this direction, don't bother wasting time on the other nin" Kiba's voice was filled with authority, even though he wasn't the leader of the group.

Ino smiled at Kiba and nodded, Sai silently let go of a terrified nin and turned in the direction that Kiba had told him about, even Shikamaru stood up and paid attention to the fight. He could feel that there were more than they had first intended on attacking. They all stood silently and awaited their arrival and in a matter of 20 seconds, Kiba's predictions came true. A wild bunch of wild ninja came running through the trees, they were all rather large and looked physically powerful… even the kunoichi looked taller than usual and burly. Hinata and Kiba ran forward and entered the battle scene, Hinata's Byakugan could see further than her teammates eyes, she caught sight of at least 5 more rows of the feral nin.

The ninja all cut short their rampage abruptly as they saw the five ninja standing objectively in their way, the ninja in the middle of the first row let out a wholehearted laugh "look guys, they sent the pee wee patrol to stop us!" He ended in another wholehearted laugh as every other missing nin joined in at laughing at the poor quality joke. Kiba and Ino sweat dropped and the sad joke, while the others just muttered something about how lame it was.

"They're too troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed and leaned up against the tree he previously was on, the one who had spoke first turned an unnatural shade of red from anger "what was that, punk?!" he spat out, Shikamaru lazily opened his eyes and shut them again with a bored sigh "…too troublesome…"

"That's it!" he raised a fist to punch Shikamaru, Shikamaru seemed unfazed by the daring threat of the enraged nin. And with one fowl swoop… Ino punched the idiotic ninja and sent him flying into the bushes, she cracked her knuckles and sighed, "your right Shikamaru-kun… they are _too_ troublesome…" she giggled and Shikamaru just rolled his eyes adding a '_you're too troublesome…_' mentally to himself.

Everyone stopped short their battle when two blurred figures hopped down from the trees above them; they landed with uttermost grace and poise. It was Neji and Tenten; they had both arrived to enter the fray with the rest of their friends and teammates. Neji smirked as he examined the ninja with his Byakugan, instantly liking the idea of this battle, sure they were out numbered but with their strength he was sure they could all beat them in an instant. Neji looked back towards his friends with the smirk still adorning his features, "This looks like fun"

"Yeah!" Ino and Tenten replied happily, jumping in the air with enthusiasm

"Woman are too troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed, but had a small smirk gracing his lips as he pushed himself up off the tree and grabbing out some kunai to attack the conflicting shinobi with

Hinata smiled at Neji and Kiba let out a broad laugh and silenced his laugh with a toothy grin at Neji. Neji activated his Byakugan again and muttered, "Alright… lets get this started…"

**xXx**

Tsunade watched Sasuke sleep peacefully, she had draped a blanket over him to keep him warm, the poor thing had begun to shiver at least five minutes into his dark slumber. Sakura was healing his shoulder as he slept, it would make the process of healing a lot easier and leave less scaring. Tsunade brushed his long bangs out of his closed eyes, his soul seemed eased as Sakura healed him as he slept, he was rather restless as he tossed and turned before Sakura held him still and mended his still injured shoulder. Tsunade was like a mother to both Naruto and Sasuke, she had watched them grow up and they had become closer than best friends should normally be… even if it was invisible to the naked eye… they had fallen deeply and madly in love with each other…

Naruto's love was a bit less noticeable compared to Sasuke's, Sasuke showed his affection by only unfreezing his heart for Naruto… and letting only Naruto inside. Naruto's love was hidden beneath his fear… fear of rejection… being alone all his life had made it rather hard to identify emotions that were foreign to him, like love… and even friendship… Sasuke was the only one who had provided him both at a young age. Sure… Naruto had Iruka… but that was more of a fatherly love, and Naruto was friends with Sasuke before he had learnt to trust Iruka. Their love was a tale of two miserable young boys who had found love between them… no matter how much they tried to the deny their feelings and emotions… it was painfully obvious.

"Tsunade-sama…" Sakura spoke up in a hoarse whisper, still keeping her concentration on Sasuke's injury "I'm not the only one who noticed it am I…?"

Tsunade shifted on the bedside to look at Sakura, she raised a honey-colored eyebrow "what do you mean?"

Sakura shifted her shoulders back and stretched her arms outwards with a satisfied sigh, before returning back to her work and replying, "I mean… what's going on with Sasuke and Naruto… I can tell you know as well…" Sakura gave her a small look from underneath her bangs

Tsunade sighed and nodded, she ran her hands parallel through her blonde locks before resting them at the base of her neck "Yes… They're in love…"

"Im… glad…" Sakura mumbled with a minor smile, Tsunade only replied by giving her short skeptical look… She didn't truly believe Sakura's words; Sakura looked up and just barely saw the look she was being given

Sakura sighed and wiped her forehead, "…_really_ Tsunade-sama… I've known it for a while… it was a little obvious with Sasuke's pet names 'n' all… and their constant bickering over nothing…" She smiled and looked down at Sasuke's peaceful face "…I was heartbroken… knowing he would never be mine… but… I've moved on, im no longer that selfish little girl I once was"

Sakura softly rubbed Sasuke's cheek lovingly and went back to healing his arm when he shifted uncomfortably in his sleep, "Im just happy that he's found someone he can love… no matter what" She replied truthfully with a broad smile

Tsunade returned her smile and agreed, "That's nice Sakura… I'm sure you should tell him that…"

"I will Tsunade-sama… I will…" her smile faltered when she looked back down at Sasuke's passive face, his looked so worry-free…

'_Please wake up soon Sasuke-kun… I need you… we need you… but most of all…_' She turned her head to look at the small tanned figure that was Naruto in the distance…

'_But most of all… Naruto needs you…_'

* * *

Hooray!! This chapter didn't turnout half bad… if I do say so myself… and everyone knows im my own toughest critic… for some reason I had sooooo much trouble on this chapter… I couldn't stop fumbling over every one of these words…! D: oh well… at least it's finished now…  
For some reason the line 'he was becoming drunk on the taste of blood' made me laugh… Lol, imagine vampires being all drunk and queasy from drinking to much blood… Lol, the police officer would be like:  
'Mr. vampire, we're gonna have to take you down town for consuming more than the 0.5 amount of blood…' Yes, im in an odd mood today…

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY! PLEEEEEASE REVIEW, THANK YOU IF YOU REVIEW :3**

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	21. Chapter 21

Strangely… I can't think of anything to say… except… (Locks the exit) more hugs and kisses! Mwuhahahahaha…  
_**thank you all for the best reviews! You people are the best!**_

**Please read: Never Forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – It's the absolute best**

**Disclaimer: **I'm not leaving this spot until I own Naruto…(10 seconds spent waiting) oh I give up Naruto will never be mine…

* * *

_-- Previously --_

_Sakura softly rubbed Sasuke's cheek lovingly and went back to healing his arm when he shifted uncomfortably in his sleep, "Im just happy that he's found someone he can love… no matter what" She replied truthfully with a broad smile_

_Tsunade returned her smile and agreed, "That's nice Sakura… I'm sure you should tell him that…"_

"_I will Tsunade-sama… I will…" her smile faltered when she looked back down at Sasuke's passive face, his looked so worry-free…_

'_Please wake up soon Sasuke-kun… I need you… we need you… but most of all…' She turned her head to look at the small tanned figure that was Naruto in the distance…_

'_But most of all… Naruto needs you…'_

* * *

Gaara jumped backwards as he just narrowly dodged Kyuubi vessel, Naruto landed gracefully on all fours and sprung at Gaara again. Gaara's sand whipped up as Naruto collided with the thick wall of grains, a loud snap and crack sounded when Naruto slammed into the barrier. Gaara mentally cringed when he had heard Naruto crash head-on with the hard sand divider between them both; Gaara reluctantly made his sand disappeared back into his gourd, as he wanted to see Naruto's face. Said man was leaning over with his hands planted on his knees as he growled loudly and sent Gaara a death glare from beneath his bangs.

Naruto's nose was twisted in an ugly direction as it had snapped off to a side; Naruto crossed his eyes and winced at the sight of his distorted nose, he looked back at Gaara who was sending him a smug look. Naruto hastily pulled his nose until an unnatural 'pop' sound erupted from it; he wiggled it back into its normal position and waited for the fox demon to heal it. Naruto carefully let go of his nose as he felt the chakra soothing his broken nose. Gaara watched Naruto's movements in a bored fashion; Naruto wriggled and scrunched his nose, seeing if it was all right. He mentally congratulated the demon's handiwork and thanked the Kyuubi, Naruto snapped his neck from side to side and smirked at the redhead.

Gaara's eye twitched vigorously from Naruto's taunting smile, Gaara's sand picked itself up off the ground in slow motion. It stabbed at Naruto's body in precise and dangerous movements; Naruto was only just able to dodge Gaara's attacks. A dark aura was building around Gaara from anger, Naruto merely sighed at Gaara's determination. Gaara's sand enveloped Naruto's feet and threw him in too a tree before letting go, Naruto dug his nails into the tree so he hadn't hit it with a large amount of force.

Naruto slid down the tree trunk and gracelessly landed on his butt on the ground. Naruto sent Gaara a death glare, who just countered it with his usual apathetic look. Naruto shook his head and stood up, brushing the dark ashes and sand grains off his pant legs. Naruto planted his hands on his sides and stretched his hips by waving them from side to side. Boredom quickly replaced Gaara's anger at Naruto, this of all times was not the best time to get angry at Naruto… knowing what could be the fate of Naruto or himself, if he enraged their demons.

Naruto wiped the side of his face clean from the blood; he sent Gaara a slight glare before pouncing at him again. Gaara swung his fist at Naruto and made it collide with Naruto's cheekbone, Naruto winced slightly under the sharp pain but managed to attack Gaara. Naruto, at the same time as Gaara, had done the same motion as the redhead. They both flew in opposite directions; Gaara flew to the right while Naruto flew off to the left. They both lay on the ground momentarily, before both demon vessels leapt to their feet and charged at each other.

Naruto moved his fist back and forth as he aimed a punch at Gaara's face, Gaara awaited Naruto's hit patiently. Gaara's sand instantly flared up before Naruto's hand could get even close to his face, Naruto cringed when his knuckles cracked against the rough grainy wall. Naruto angrily retracted his hand and glared at the sand wall, hoping it would burn under his fiery glare. Gaara sent him a self-satisfied smirk as his sand receded its defensive position around Gaara.

"If you didn't have that sand you'd be defenseless and weak…" Naruto muttered as he rubbed his sore fist

"And so would you… if you didn't have the Kyuubi's chakra to back you up…" Naruto glared as Gaara finished his taunting "But… your already weak…"

Naruto sent him a dirty look and flared up his chakra, the hurricane of red chakra erupted around his body and dangerously swung at Gaara's body. Gaara jumped back when the chakra took tried to attack his body, Naruto bent forward and gently placed his palms on the soggy grass. Gaara carefully analyzed Naruto's animalistic movements, Naruto's hair drooped low down in front of his eyes but his red eyes shone through his muddy blonde bangs. Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow at the nasty look he was receiving; Naruto extended his arm and slashed Gaara's leg, leaving four claw marks.

Gaara jumped backs as if he had been electrocuted; he gripped his wound and sent Naruto a blood-chilling glare. Naruto just sent him a toothy grin and scraped his bangs backwards, Gaara saw his wound dry up and become a scab, although it was still tender and ached if excessive movement was used on it. Gaara could feel the skin around the injury tightening; Naruto leapt at Gaara and pushed him into the dirt. Gaara pushed Naruto around so he was on top; he smashed his fist into Naruto's forehead making Naruto's whole body shake under the sheer force of it.

Naruto slipped his head from under Gaara's fist and sunk his pointed fangs into the unscathed skin on Gaara's hand. Gaara immediately responded to the pain by punching Naruto in the side of his face, Naruto didn't let go of his firm grip on Gaara's hand. Gaara swung his fist back and forth again and slammed into the side of Naruto's head, Naruto winced and reluctantly let go of Gaara's hand. Naruto stumbled backwards and rubbed his face trying to soothe the minor pain, while Gaara rubbed his sore fist and massaged the bite marks that had penetrated his skin. Naruto sent Gaara a dark glare and let his chakra die down, and Gaara sent him an equally frightening glare.

Gaara's sand twirled around violently making small swirls before shooting itself at Naruto, Naruto absent-mindedly dodged Gaara's sand as it just barely slipped past his hip. Naruto yawned and sidestepped the sand's attack again, Gaara narrowed his eyes as his sand took another shot at attacking Naruto. The violent sand scraped the side of Naruto's waist but he didn't falter from it, the wound closed up with ease and was healed in an instant. Naruto flipped backwards like a cat as he dodged the sand, it made numerous fast-paced attempts to grab Naruto, and yet one after another they all failed.

Naruto leapt backwards and wrapped his legs energetically around a tree limb, Gaara looked down at his hand as it turned to a large fistful of sand. Gaara hurled his sand at Naruto; the sand hand disappeared and was replaced by his real hand in seconds. Before Naruto could blink the sand crashed into his chest, the force pushed all the air out of Naruto's lungs, he wheezed maniacally trying to regain his breath.

In his air deprived state he managed to duck and roll away from another sand attack, he regained his breath after kicking Gaara's sand away from his sore chest. Naruto threw himself at Gaara and dug his nails into the soft surface of the ground; Naruto mildly admired the workmanship of the Kyuubi's chakra on his body. It was truly amazing. Naruto pulled himself up off the ground and into a crouching position; he rested his arms on his knees and entwined his fingers with each other. He stared arrogantly at Gaara, Gaara just off-handedly looked away; he had been hoping he would've been down for at least another minute.

Gaara's sand spun up behind Naruto and pounced at him, Gaara had been silently maneuvering the sand with his hands still tucked over his chest. Naruto flew to the ground and rolled away from the sand, unfortunately for him the sand had gotten him. Dark blood trickled down from a jagged cut on his slightly exposed hip, Naruto glanced at Gaara and sent him a half-hearted glare for his sneak attack. He used his thumb to carefully wipe away the blood, and licked the traces of blood off it.

"That was quite a good move you pulled…" Naruto complimented as he examined his finger for more blood

Gaara didn't dignify his statement with an answer, his sand curled around his body in a dangerous whirlwind-like form. Naruto watched the sand demon through half-lidded eyes; it was as if a miniature sandstorm was revolving around his body. Naruto entwined his fingers together and placed his hands at the back of his head in boredom, he took a slow blink but kept his constant watch on Gaara. Gaara looked down at his sand and watched it slowly creep over to Naruto's slender figure, Naruto chuckled "I wouldn't fall for it twice…"

Gaara's sand collapsed to the ground, he scowled lightly and kicked the drenched dirt in anger. Gaara suppressed a shrill yell as he felt sharp canine's penetrate the skin on his fragile neck, Naruto continued to crush Gaara's neck with his powerful jaws. Gaara felt his blood pouring into Naruto's mouth as his neck began to crumble under the sheer strength of Naruto's mouth, the blonde still hadn't eased up on the force he was inflicting on Gaara's neck. Gaara hissed out in pain and tried desperately to get Naruto to release the hold on his neck, unfortunately Naruto didn't seem phased by the weak pawing from Gaara on his arms.

Naruto smirked and bite down harder, earning a terror-filled and pain-stricken howl from Gaara. Naruto's smirk widened as he watched what little color was left in Gaara's face drain away, Gaara's jade eyes darkened and turned lifeless.

'_He's almost dead…_' he licked the blood inside his mouth, savoring the bitter wine-like flavor. '_**Almost**__…_'

**xXx**

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open, it had seemed like an eternity since he had last seen the murky clouds of today. His arm felt great, possibly even better than before, he had to thank Sakura straight away. Sasuke tried his best to get into a sitting position but something heavy was weighing his body down into the uncomfortable position, only then did he realize that the pick-haired kunoichi was lying atop his stomach sleeping peacefully. Sasuke's eyes finally ridded their haziness of sleep and had adjusted to the lighting; he leaned down to Sakura and begged in a harsh whisper "Sakura! _Wake up_!" She didn't budge.

"…Sakura! Get off…!" His tone was ruder and a tad louder this time, yet she only groaned and made no further movements

"Sakura! Get the hell off me_ now_!" His tone could've frozen hell, or in this case woken Sakura… luckily, for her, it did

Sakura shifted soundlessly in her sleep and flickered her eyes open, she yawned animatedly and stretched out her arms. Sakura looked over at the fuming Uchiha and gave him a groggy smile, as she was still off in her own little world, she spoke to the seething Uchiha with a care in the world "Hey… Sasuke… How's it goin'?"

Sasuke gave her the hint by staring at her, then her arms and then back at her, Sakura laughed stupidly at the silent gesture but obeyed it. She lazily pulled her arms off his legs and leaned back into the chair she had been partially sitting on, Sasuke sighed and sat up with an aching back. He ignored Sakura's question as she had left her sleepy mode and had returned to reality, "Oh Sasuke! I'm so, so, so sorry for sleeping on you! Hows your arm? It's all right isn't it? --" Sasuke waited for her questions to die down, so he could actually answer them…

"_Sakura_… my arm is fine…" he muttered, he rolled his shoulder to test if it truly was fine

"That's good…" She let go of a breath she hadn't known she was holding, "Let me check it though…"

She pulled herself and her chair closer to Sasuke's shoulder; the wound had healed beautifully and with as little tissue damage as possible. Sakura pressed down on the soft skin around the wound as she checked for any weak points or broken bones, she noted dimly that he had winced slightly when she had began to press her thumbs over his scar. "Does that hurt?" She thought aloud as she continued to press down on the wound, '_no broken bones… that's good_.' She pulled away when she heard Sasuke's weak reply

"Not really…" he mumbled and looked away, "So is it alright?"

"Seems fine, albeit it seems a bit tender…" she gave him a strange look and stared him in the eyes "You need to rest--"

"Im sick of _fucking_ resting!" he seethed and sent an infamous Uchiha glare at Sakura, who –surprisingly- countered it with her own glare

"You _need_ to rest Sasuke!" She hissed through clenched teeth although her look softened as she continued, "For Naruto's sake… you need all the rest you can get…"

Sasuke looked at her darkly but sighed and nodded; he snuggled down deeper into the blanket. He gave the blanket a scrutinizing look, "who gave me this?" he asked to no one in particular, Sakura looked up and at the blanket Sasuke was wrapped in "Oh! Tsunade-sama gave it too you, of course!" she replied with her usual pizzazz, Sasuke pulled the blanket higher over his chest so it reached his neckline.

"Can you tell her 'thanks'?" Sasuke mumbled in an embarrassed tone, Sakura giggled at him and nodded

"Sure Sasuke-kun!" She patted him on the head as if he were a puppy; he sent her a half-hearted glare as she skipped off

Sasuke sighed and lay his head down on the pillow, he wasn't tired physically but mentally he was exhausted. Everything lately had been getting to him… and it was driving him nuts! Although everything seemed to point towards Naruto, the whole thing with Orochimaru and Akatsuki, Sasuke's wound, the whole battle and practically Sasuke's entire life up until this very point. Sasuke sighed and placed his head within his cupped hands, there was no denying it… everything lead to Naruto because that was all he could think about… Sasuke knew he had fallen, and he had fallen _hard_.

He absently looked over at the fight; they seemed to be just standing there… Sasuke took no actions to figure out why; he just lazily turned back to his previous position of staring up into space. Sakura trotted over and saw him spacing out, she decided it was best to let him stay like that for a while… it was easier on him, herself and nearly everyone around him as they could all do without his constant complaining. Sakura sat back down on her small folding chair and watched him out of boredom, he sighed a lot and seemed to keep rethinking every thing over and over again.

It was strange to see Sasuke's eyes reflecting so many emotions, like love, shame, hurt, happiness… she was so used to looking into his cold eyes and seeing nothing of the sort, the new Sasuke took some time getting used to… but it had been all for the better. She had only seen the Uchiha cry on the very odd occasion… she saw him cry when he thought he had lost Naruto to death, as well as other times when he would just cry after someone may have accidentally brought up the subject of Naruto or the Kyuubi… no, he wouldn't cry in public. He would only allow himself to be racked with quiet sobbing in his own household, knowing he would be safe to do so there.

Sakura shook off her silent reminiscing and shook Sasuke's shoulder slightly "Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke flinched slightly under the touch but replied to her with a grunt, Sakura slid her hand off his shoulder and cleared her throat "Tsunade-sama says that you've healed well… and…"

"…And…?" Sasuke asked and raised an elegant eyebrow

"And… you can go fight Naruto now… but she advises you be careful." Sakura stated, hoping with all her might that the Uchiha would listen and not be headstrong…

"Alright…" Sasuke said a bit uneasily, he thought he would've jumped to the opportunity but…

Sasuke slowly slid off the bed and awkwardly rose to his feet, they were still a bit weak from sleeping. Sasuke stretched his arms outwards uncharacteristically and sighed, Sakura stood up from her chair and eyed him carefully. Sasuke ignored her stares and began to walk slowly over to the battlefield of the two vicious demons. Sakura continued to watch Sasuke as he stalked over to Naruto and Gaara; she took a hesitant step forward and opened her mouth although no words came out.

Sasuke was walking away fast, she needed to tell him… or she would regret it for the rest of her life. "Sasuke-kun!" her words were weak as he voice betrayed her

Sasuke sighed and stopped "What?"

"I-I just wanted to say… good luck!" Sasuke was about to reply but Sakura continued on, "with Naruto I mean! I can tell you really love him! I've always sort of known! So… please take care and bring Naruto back!" she panted slightly after yelling out her confession to the raven-haired man

Sasuke was abruptly taken back by her words, was it that obvious that even she knew? Sasuke turned his body completely around and looked at her skeptically, Sakura faltered slightly under the far away stare of the Uchiha and looked away. Sasuke let a small smile play across his lips, it warmed his heart to know his former teammate –whom had a crush on him- was on his side when it came to his choice for love. "Thank you Sakura!" he waved abnormally and sent her a broad smile.

"Y-your welcome!" She said waving back before turning away and helping Tsunade again

'_Please… Please bring him back Sasuke…_'

* * *

Im so… sorry! I was so… so… so… sick! Nearly everyone in my class got this flu thing and was away from school all week (me being one of those people) Sorry if I faltered while making this, but that is my excuse! Like it or lump it (Glare) Anywho… 

**Please, Please, PLEASE review! I need more reviews! Thank you too everyone who reviews!**

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	22. Chapter 22

Squeee!!! I've got the perfect idea for a new fanfiction! I just hope no one uses it by the time I finish this story…  
_**Thank you all for your reviews! They were so inspiring! THANK YOU ALL!**_

**Please read: Never Forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – It's a great story!**

**Disclaimer**I don't own Naruto… except for—no wait… he wanted that back… never mind

* * *

_-- Previously --_

"_I-I just wanted to say… good luck!" Sasuke was about to reply but Sakura continued on, "with Naruto I mean! I can tell you really love him! I've always sort of known! So… please take care and bring Naruto back!" she panted slightly after yelling out her confession to the raven-haired man_

_Sasuke was abruptly taken back by her words, was it that obvious that even she knew? Sasuke turned his body completely around and looked at her skeptically, Sakura faltered slightly under the far away stare of the Uchiha and looked away. Sasuke let a small smile play across his lips, it warmed his heart to know his former teammate –whom had a crush on him- was on his side when it came to his choice for love. "Thank you Sakura!" he waved abnormally and sent her a broad smile._

"_Y-your welcome!" She said waving back before turning away and helping Tsunade again_

'_Please… Please bring him back Sasuke…'_

* * *

All nin seemed virtually unfazed by the Hyuuga's taunting stare, Neji turned his stare into a fierce glare which made them literally piss their pants and whimper for their mommies. Neji chuckled darkly and looked deep within their bodies, a tall ninja at the front squirmed under his profound stare. Neji clenched his hand tightly; the nin's heart was quickly clenched within it causing him to cough up blood. His blood poured from his mouth and dribbled down his chin, Neji watched in admiration as the nin fell lifeless into a pool of blood and water. All of the dead ninja's so-called 'friends' shifted away from his dead body and shuddered when the putrid smell of death filled their noses, not like they hadn't smelt it all around them earlier. 

A loud battle cry erupted from their throats as they all charged at each other, Kiba and Hinata stuck close together as did Ino and Sai. Shikamaru, Neji and Tenten all were going to fare by themselves, Tenten unclipped her scroll while Shikamaru got into a fighting stance. Neji had already begun fighting; ninja were uselessly throwing their bodies over Neji's in an attempt to bring him down. Neji growled and shook them off his back, '_this is pissing me off…_' Neji growled inwardly at them

Kiba let Hinata rush ahead to Neji, so she could use her Byakugan better. Most ninja exchanged sideways glances as they were looked upon by both masked ninja, Neji had pulled his mask back over his face as Hinata had done a few minutes ago, they weren't sure if Hinata was another Hyuuga or not so they were now taking their chances. Kiba climbed aboard Akamaru's back and charged into the wall of missing nin, Akamaru rudely bowled them over and squashed them with his hefty paws. Kiba smiled and patted Akamaru's head in gratitude, Shikamaru grunted as a ninja took a kunai from his pocket and swung it at Shikamaru making contact with his shoulder. Shikamaru quickly removed the sharp weaponry from his shoulder and threw it back with just as much force, if not more.

The ninja wailed in pain and ripped the kunai from his shoulder, before throwing it on the ground and running away with his tail in between his legs. Shikamaru inwardly laughed and jumped at an unsuspecting ninja with a kunai at hand, the knife dug into the left side of his chest, just narrowly missing the nin's heart. The nin's legs gave way and sent him to the floor where he withered helplessly; Shikamaru smirked and leaned back into the tree that happily cradled his back. Kiba mentally chuckled at his optimism and threw a shuriken at a passing ninja; they fell to the moist ground in a large heap.

Ino and Sai were skillfully throwing shuriken, kunai and daggers at the enemy, Ino swung her fist backwards and forwards making it come into contact with a nin's cheekbone. Said ninja fell to the ground whimpering and wailing in pain, clutching their face as if it would fall off. Ino unnaturally cracked his sore fingers singularly, so it made an abnormal 'crick' sound. Sai sent her a strange look but she ignored it and went back to attacking the savage rampage of ninja.

Neji and Hinata were simultaneously attacking ninja, both doing it from inside and out. Hinata pounded the tips of her chakra filled fingers into a ninja and sent him flying into the trees, Neji did the exact same attack in chorus with Hinata except he used his palms. Blood poured from the nin's mouth into a small pool near his knees, Neji smirked in self-satisfaction and let him fall to the ground and die. Hinata's skilled fingertips painfully jabbed into the offender's chest, within seconds they were on their knees whining in throbbing pain. She smiled happily at her own handiwork and snuck a quick glance at Neji, her smile widened as she saw his fast progress at knocking down ninja.

Hinata swung her chakra-radiating palm into an unsuspecting nin's stomach, the air harshly escaped their stomach through the mouth causing them to wheeze and gasp from the much-needed air they couldn't seem to grasp. Neji smiled softly at Hinata's baby-like bloodlust, it was almost… 'Cute' in a way. Neji absent-mindedly dodged a falling ninja before spinning around and kicking them in the crotch, the male nin screamed in a high-pitch tone and whimpered girlishly as he held his lower region in searing pain. Neji chuckled darkly under his breath and continued to fight.

Ino threw a shuriken at Sai, who caught it with ease and twirled around on his toes before throwing into a kunoichi's cheek, it ripped her flesh deeply leaving a gaping cut on her face. She ran off into the thick forest with a few ninja following, hoping to escape with their lives. Sai smiled at Ino, who returned it with a dazzling grin. Kiba and Akamaru ran down the missing nin, crushing bones and breaking ribs in the process. Kiba threw a kunai in any direction and it fortunately dig into the arm of an rivaling nin, Kiba grinned in happiness and leapt off Akamaru, who was to busy biting a ninja to realize.

"My Friends!" an unforgettable voice boomed from over head the fight

Everyone looked up and smiled, it was Lee. He was perched atop one of the many thick branches of a tree, Neji smirked as he leapt off the branch and landed beside him with his trademark 'Gai' grin glinting at everyone. The battle had froze as they all stared strangely at the man in a clad of green spandex. "Ah, Neji! Tenten! Ino! Kiba! Hinata! –He took a deep breath- Sai! Shikamaru! And Kiba! How are you?! Hope I'm not interrupting anything…" They all had a small laugh.

When their quiet laughter seized, a dagger wielding ninja came screaming up at them, they swung their dagger wild and dangerously at the conflicting ninja. Lee instantly grabbed the dagger and punched the shinobi in the jaw, sending him flying upwards and back into the thick crowd of ninja. Lee cracked his knuckles and sighed, "So, was I interrupting anything?"

Everyone laughed wholeheartedly at the green ninja, known as Lee, and continued to fight, glad that they had another helping hand on their side.

**xXx**

Sasuke rolled and unrolled his shoulder, flexing it and unflexing it also giving it a good hard stare. He wasn't paying much attention to his shoulder, but Sakura's words were still flying around his skull… they were literally embedded in it. Was it true? Was he utterly, truly, madly, deeply and absolutely falling for the blonde shinobi? Yes. Sasuke sighed and paused in mid-step, he slid his hand down his face and groaned. Maybe this all could've been avoided, if he had found out his feelings earlier… although 'earlier' he had an uncanny obsession with revenge against his brother.

'_Good luck!_' Sakura's words echoed painfully slow throughout his head "…Shut up…" Sasuke let out a throaty growl in anger

'_I can tell you really love him!_' Sasuke pulled his hair and hissed in frustration, yes. He admitted it. He loved Naruto. But why were Sakura's words still clinging to his every thought? Sasuke shook his head and continued to walk

Sasuke watched Naruto take hit from Gaara's sand, he inwardly winced, it hurt him to see someone precious to him being hurt. Even if their precious person was half demon now. Sasuke felt his heart clench when blood dripped from Naruto's hip, he was close enough to see the wounds on Naruto and Gaara's skin now… more so on Gaara. Sasuke walked to a stop and watched the battle unfold; Naruto licked the dim blood from his thumb as he had gently swiped it over his cut. The skin pulled tightly back together and healed the wound it surrounded; Sasuke noted, with a grimace, that it was the Kyuubi who had healed him.

Gaara's sand faltered from sneaking over to the blonde when Naruto had said something, Naruto's stomach dropped and rose from dark laughter at Gaara. Before Sasuke had could figure out what Naruto had muttered… He had jumped at Gaara and was taking a massive bite out of Gaara's neck. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, Gaara's blood was dribbling down Naruto's chin as he sunk his teeth further into the pale and abused neck. Naruto felt Gaara's howl vibrate up and down his throat in throbbing pain, Naruto heard the sickening crunch of Gaara's neck and smirked into the open wound on Gaara's neck.

Naruto perked up and instantly turned around when the light crack of a twig echoed right through the lonely forest. Sasuke cursed mildly under his breath and stared deeply at the demon before him, blood was coating Naruto's canines as he smiled evilly at the Uchiha. Naruto's gaze diverted to where Sasuke's was… at the other demon in his arms, he had passed out from lack of blood and the excruciating pain Naruto had inflicted on his neck. Naruto snorted and let Gaara fall to the ground, Gaara limp body crashed to the ground with a small 'thump'. Naruto tilted his head so he could see Sasuke out of the corner of his eye "Well? Come and save him, Uchiha."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes into a glare at Naruto and took a hesitant step forwards as Naruto stepped away from Gaara's body; Sasuke complied and walked over to Gaara. Naruto stared blankly at Gaara's fallen body… just lying there… Naruto suddenly clawed at his chest and clamped his eyes shut. Something deep inside his body was pawing at his guilt. Naruto fell to his knees and into a puddle of water; the murky and dirtied water splashed up his legs and soaked his pant legs until his skin underneath felt clammy. Naruto continued to claw at his chest until it went red with each scratch or touch, he continued to try and free himself from the bubbling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Sasuke was slightly taken back by Naruto's actions, but quickly decided it would be the best time to get Gaara somewhere safe. Sasuke ran up to Gaara's body and scooped him into his arms; he gave a quick examination of his neck before bolting off to his previous position. Sasuke gingerly touched Gaara's bite marks "Temari!!" Temari was over there in a heartbeat

"What is—OH MY GOD!" Temari pulled Gaara from Sasuke's weak grasp and ran back before Sasuke had a chance to say anything

"…Ok…" Sasuke mumbled with a blank tone, Sasuke shifted around on his knees and looked at Naruto. Naruto was hunched over as his knees sunk into the muddy ground below them; his breathing was moderately delayed as his wobbly limbs regained their strength. Sasuke resisted the urge to help him up as he unsteadily rose to his feet, with a small shake of his shoulders the half-demon boy seemed to be all right.

Naruto brushed his drenched bangs backwards and gave the Uchiha a merciless stare; Sasuke took the hint and approached the demon cautiously. Sasuke seized his steps about 1 meter away from the Kyuubi-boy; Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at the dark-haired man in front of him. Red eyes clashed with onyx ones, Sasuke felt himself falter under the intense stare of the demon as his crimson eyes pierced into his soul. He felt too exposed to the demon.

Naruto took a step forward and let his smirk disappear into a blank expression, Sasuke kept his constant gaze on Naruto's cold face. Naruto let his gaze trail up and down the Uchiha's body "You've healed well…" Naruto thought aloud, letting a sneer under his breath "unfortunately"

Sasuke placed a hand just above his hip and smirked arrogantly at Naruto "Yeah, I have."

"Well then… better not waste anymore time than we already have…" Naruto swiped his deadly claws at Sasuke, who evaded the attack with simplicity. Naruto had managed to slip his other hand into Sasuke's pocket and grab out shuriken, four shuriken were laced between his fingers before he threw them at Sasuke's nimble body. Sasuke, once again, escaped the fast-paced attack of the demon and caught the shuriken himself. Sasuke flipped backwards and flung the shuriken forcefully at Naruto; Sasuke was confused to say the least when Naruto stood his ground.

And of course, the shuriken whizzed past Naruto's body one by one. Naruto smirked and looked back, they were all implanted into the trees and ground behind him. Sasuke blinked a few times, '_how did he know they wouldn't touch him?_' Naruto entwined his fingers together and placed his hands at the base of his neck, a devilish smile playing along his lips as if he knew what Sasuke was thinking.

The rain that was pouring around them had only gotten worse with each waking moment, Sasuke felt his clothes become heavy and they clung closely to his body. He could see Naruto's pants were practically glued to his legs, thanks to all the blood, rain and mud they were smothered in. Naruto's bare foot slid across the muddy ground so he had a better balance, Sasuke did the same but kicked off the ground and began stampeding at Naruto. Naruto wavered a bit, not sure whether to move or not.

Naruto's quickly fled from Sasuke's pathway and began to charge at him from the side, Sasuke swung his legs around and knocked Naruto off his feet sending him into a mud puddle. Naruto instantly screeched with disgust and wiped the mud from his face sending Sasuke numerous death glares in the process, Sasuke muffled his chuckle from behind his hand as Naruto's cheeks dusted in a light blush from embarrassment.

Naruto fumed and tackled the Uchiha to the ground unexpectedly; the demon boy was shouting things like 'Bastard' 'How dare you!' or 'You little bitch' Sasuke could only laugh at how much his antics reminded him of when they were younger, Well… that's if he wasn't so busy trying to fend off Naruto. Naruto was furious at the dark-haired man for embarrassing him like that; Sasuke kicked Naruto off him and scrambled away. He shook his head and leapt to his feet, Naruto did the same as he clenched and unclenched his hands in rage.

Naruto's fingers curled inwards into a tense fist beside his legs, he ran forward with his fist ready to attack. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's fist and flipped him backwards before punching him in the stomach, Naruto seemed unfazed by the punch and kicking the Uchiha's chin as he landed back on the ground. Sasuke fell backwards into a puddle; he rubbed his chin sorely and sent Naruto a fiery glare, who just ignored it. Naruto cracked his neck to the side out of boredom as Sasuke stood up and regained his posture, Sasuke stepped away from the demon who in return threw him a curious glance.

Sasuke shook off Naruto's look and glared at him, Naruto let his curious look fade into a blank one. Sasuke looked at the strange look on Naruto's face, he was obviously thinking… Sasuke swung his fist back and aimed a punch at Naruto's face. His fist was caught by Naruto's hand; his fist was cradled in it until Naruto let it go.

Sasuke rubbed his fist and took another shot at him. Naruto, who was still off in his own little world, vaguely avoided his fist. Sasuke threw a sharpened kunai at Naruto's face; it took a close strike at Naruto's face. Naruto felt it make a graze across his face although he didn't worry, the kunai clattered to the ground besides Naruto's foot, Naruto looked at it curiously and wiped his finger over the wet feeling on his face. Blood.

Naruto examined the finger before wiping the blood remains down his tongue; Sasuke cringed and took large step away from the demon. Naruto lapped up the last traces of blood before pouncing on the unsuspecting Uchiha; Sasuke struggled under Naruto's tight grip on his shoulders but managed to flip over so he was on top. Naruto's head collided with the ground harshly; Sasuke winced when Naruto whimpered in pain. Sure he was a demon… but it still hurt Sasuke so much to hear his soft whimpers of hurt.

Sasuke watched Naruto thrash about under his strong grasp on his forearms, Naruto growled and hissed in an animalistic tone as Sasuke held him down. The rain was against Sasuke as it made it hard for him to keep his grip on the Kyuubi-boy, Naruto smirked and kneed him in the stomach, Sasuke's fingers slipped off and Naruto made a quick escape. Sasuke growled and stood back up, while he still clutched on to his stomach for comfort. Naruto scratched his, now healed, cheek, Sasuke glared and threw himself at Naruto.

Both men fell to the floor, Sasuke loomed over Naruto with an analyzing look. Naruto threw him a dirty look, "what you staring at Bastard?" Sasuke didn't hear that rude comment as he continued to look over Naruto with an extremely scrutinizing stare. Naruto sneered and made furious attempts to claw the Uchiha's eyes out, but his body was forbidding him too, '_What the hell…_'

"Why can't I move…?" Naruto asked himself as he struggled continuously under the weight of Sasuke

Sasuke eyed Naruto's wet lips, his mud and rain slicked hair and his intoxicating red eyes… oh how he hated those. And at that moment… he knew what he had to do… Sasuke's eyes cast down to half-mast; he leaned down closer to Naruto, despite the blonde's furious objections. Sasuke caught the tint of blue that flashed within Naruto's crimson eyes, "W-what are you doing?! You Idiot!"

Sasuke couldn't hear anything but the slow, steady heartbeat of his own and the slow rising beat of Naruto's, "Oi! Get off me!"

Sasuke closed his eyes and closed the gaps between them, pressing their lips together in a sweet, tender kiss. Sasuke's heart fluttered at the sensation on his lips, Naruto had tensed when his lips laid themselves on his own… but seemed to have melted into the heart-filled kiss…

Sasuke felt a lone tear drop running down his cheek and leak down on to Naruto's, before rolling off it and on to the ground…  
'_Please… for the love of god… please… bring my dobe back… please…_'

* * *

WOAH!!! Talk about crazy… OMG!! This took me so… long! I've been watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya lately… and my friend has been having a lot of problems lately… the poor thing… D: So… that's why it's a lot later than I had first intended…  
OMG! I HAD A MATHS TEST TODAY!!! AND I FAILED WITH FLYING COLOURS XD WOOOOOOO!!! 


	23. Chapter 23

Woooo…! AH!! My best friend's ex boyfriend has a crush on me!! ARGH! NOW HE'S STALKING ME!! SAVE ME!!! Anywho…  
_**Thanks for the reviews! Your so… Great! I love you all!**_

**Please read: Never forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – It's really awesome! Well worth the read.**

**Disclaimer**How many times do I have to clarify this with you? I don't own Naruto! (No one cares -.-)

* * *

_-- Previously -- _

Sasuke eyed Naruto's wet lips, his mud and rain slicked hair and his intoxicating red eyes… oh how he hated those. And at that moment… he knew what he had to do… Sasuke's eyes cast down to half-mast; he leaned down closer to Naruto, despite the blonde's furious objections. Sasuke caught the tint of blue that flashed within Naruto's crimson eyes, "W-what are you doing?! You Idiot!"

_Sasuke couldn't hear anything but the slow, steady heartbeat of his own and the slow rising beat of Naruto's, "Oi! Get off me!" _

_Sasuke closed his eyes and closed the gaps between them, pressing their lips together in a sweet, tender kiss. Sasuke's heart fluttered at the sensation on his lips, Naruto had tensed when his lips laid themselves on his own… but seemed to have melted into the heart-filled kiss… _

_Sasuke felt a lone tear drop running down his cheek and leak down on to Naruto's, before rolling off it and on to the ground…  
'Please… for the love of god… please… bring my dobe back… please…'_

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes to his violet eyes staring back at him, every second it seemed to fade back to blue it would instantly darken back to a deep purple. Sasuke closed his eyes and slowly pulled away from the kiss, he noted dimly that Naruto had emitted a faint whimper, possibly upset about the warmth receding away from his lips. He wiped away the rain droplets from Naruto's tanned face with the edges of his thumbs, Naruto's eyes were partially open as he took slow and slightly delayed breaths. Sasuke couldn't really identify whether his eyes were blue, purple or that wretched red color. 

Sasuke leaned back and, unknowingly, straddled Naruto's hips; he placed his hands on Naruto's chest and waited eagerly to see his eyes. Sasuke bit the inside of his lip and stared deeply into Naruto's expression, he was rather sexy with his ragged breath as his wet bangs were splayed apart and plastered over his forehead. Sasuke shifted back further and rested his head into the crook of Naruto's neck, not caring if people were watching them or not.

"…Why'd you do that…?" Naruto whispered out from in between breaths, his eyes were still closed

"Do what?" Sasuke asked offhandedly

"Kiss me… Why'd… you kiss me…?" Naruto shifted under Sasuke as he tried to wriggle out from underneath the heavy mass

Sasuke wasn't budging his position over Naruto "Because I love you" Naruto could practically hear Sasuke's smirk

"No. You don't." Naruto sneered and sent Sasuke a glare

Sasuke narrowed his eyes into a similar dark glare, Naruto's lavender eyes pierced through Sasuke's fierce stare in a mesmerizing and watchful gaze. Sasuke evaded the look as he felt rage boil within him, Naruto smirked and laid his head back down on to the ground underneath him. Sasuke leaned back down and placed a chaste kiss on Naruto's cheek "what makes you think I don't?"

Cold fury bubbled in the pit of Naruto's stomach; he didn't wanted to be fooled with. Naruto slammed his palms deep into Sasuke's chest pushing him into the air before landing beside Naruto; he withered slightly trying to regain his breath. '_Why…? Why doesn't he believe me?_' Naruto stalked over and hovered his face above Sasuke's with a murderous smirk; Sasuke sent Naruto an icy glare and punched him in the gut.

Naruto groaned slightly and his eye twitched with pain, but he still kept his predatory position over Sasuke. Sasuke wouldn't say he was _unhappy_ with Naruto looming over him and pinning him down to the ground, it was the fact that it wasn't _entirely_ Naruto… it was his demon. Sasuke sighed and craned his neck upwards and his lips barely brushed over Naruto's, before Naruto abruptly pulled away and slashed Sasuke's face with his long nails. Sasuke hissed out a pained breath as he felt his skin become hot from the friction of Naruto's nails against his skin, Naruto smirked in self-satisfaction as he watched blood surface and leak out the ragged cracks he had made.

Sasuke winced as the rain had washed his blood into his eye; it burned drastically on his naked eye. Sasuke slapped his hand over his eye and rubbed out the blood, although there was a liquid-like red still swirling within his the back of his eye giving it a stinging sensation, it was much better than before. Naruto ghosted his fingers over Sasuke's wound; amusement danced within Naruto's eyes as he watched the look of discomfort becoming clearly printed on Sasuke's expression. Blood droplets speckled over Naruto's fingertips, he sighed and rubbed it off on Sasuke's exposed collarbone.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto in a tight bear hug and flipped him over, so he was lying on top of Naruto. The expression on Naruto's face said more than words ever could, it was something between 'what? This again?' and 'Why are you so persistent?' Naruto lowered his gaze into a half-hearted glare; Sasuke loosened up his grip but still held Naruto in a firm grasp. Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his lips on to Naruto's in a rough, heated kiss, Naruto hissed and fought back to stop the kiss but failed miserably. So he stopped the pointless struggle.

Sasuke rubbed Naruto's cheek with the back of his hand in a loving gesture, Sasuke could feel Naruto tense up even more as he touched his face gently. Sasuke slowly pulled back and took a breath, when he was sure Naruto had taken a much needed breath as well, he dived in for another kiss. Naruto shivered at the invading lips over his, he silently screamed as he felt the tip of Sasuke's tongue run across his bottom lip. Naruto abruptly pulled away and bit down into Sasuke's palm, Sasuke cringed but didn't fight back.

Sasuke felt the searing pain on his hand recede; Naruto's shoulders trembled as he became racked with quite sobs. Sasuke couldn't understand what was happening. "Why… why do you go so far for me…?"

Sasuke stayed quiet waiting for Naruto to continue, with he silently complied to. Naruto stood up and stared Sasuke in the eyes, Sasuke's heart leapt for joy; Naruto's eyes were blue… honest to god _blue_. "Don't you understand what its like to be hated? To have everyone stare at you with those cold lifeless eyes, that hold no emotion whatsoever?! And to see those stares quickly change into happiness to the person beside them within mere seconds?!, how can it be so _easy_ for them to hate one minute and love the next?!"

Naruto fell to his knees and let tears run down his face, "Why do you do that? I'm just a demon… a beast… a monster… _nothing_…" Sasuke's heart wrenched and flipped when Naruto's teary blue eyes penetrated his delicate black orbs, "Why does it hurt so much…? Why wont the pain go away?"

Sasuke stood up slowly and brushed the dirt off his knees, his constant stare on Naruto never wavering. Naruto sniffed and rubbed his eyes on his arm; Sasuke took a slow step to the unknowing Kyuubi vessel. "I don't want people to touch me… and love me… and then say it doesn't mean anything… I don't trust you… I _wont_ trust you…"

Sasuke wrapped his arms around the surprised blonde in a comforting grasp; Naruto gripped on to Sasuke's shoulders and dg his nails into them while he buried his head into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke slid his arms up Naruto's shoulders slightly and petted the back of his hair, Naruto relaxed into the hold and began mumbling incoherent words into Sasuke's chest, although Sasuke was just close enough to decipher what he was saying. "Why… why do you go this far for nothing…? Im… nothing… _Why_…?"

"Your not nothing… you never were… what ever bad things people say to you, they're not true… You're great. You're perfect. You're You. You're my _everything_…" Sasuke mumbled lovingly into his ear. Yeah, it was an incredibly sappy thing to say… but it was true.

Naruto dug his nails deeper into Sasuke's shoulders; Sasuke bit back a hiss of pain as Naruto looked up at him with dark blue eyes. "Stop with the _bloody_ lies!" Naruto abruptly pulled his nails out of Sasuke's sore shoulders and pushed himself away from Sasuke "I hate you people! You're all the same! …Leading me into the deep waters and leaving me too drown… Your all the _bloody_ same in the end…"

Naruto felt coldness bleed throughout his whole body; it left an icy feel within his body before finally tugging at his heart and pawing at his sorrow. Naruto felt his shoulders tremble as his body heat dropped radically. Sasuke noticed the pale tinge on Naruto's skin; sweat and rain trickled down Naruto's forehead and down his nose before dripping off into the rain puddle below his feet. Sasuke felt the sudden urge to hold him close and make him stop shivering by keeping him warm with his body heat, but he suppressed the urge. Naruto looked at Sasuke with mean eyes, they gleamed purple in the light and Sasuke felt his blood freeze from the look Naruto was giving him. "D-damn you… This brat… his emotions are going haywire… all because of _you_, Uchiha." The demon sneered out

Sasuke was slightly taken back, so… the Kyuubi was denying Naruto's feelings of love… Sasuke felt his blood boil with rage, how dare that monster disallow Naruto's option in his love interest. Naruto whined and clutched his head, he trembled at the massive headache he had. His head burned internally with these godforsaken emotions the Kyuubi was suppressing to the deepest, dark pits of his mind, Naruto's skull quaked with anger and uncertainty. Sasuke watched Naruto from afar… how did everything become so out of control in Naruto's life? Sasuke's knew Naruto was the reason this life was messed up, but it wasn't a bad thing…

Naruto groaned and leaned over, he panted heavily from lack of breath and the cold was beginning to get to his head. The Kyuubi was going wild within its cage, trying its hardest to retain what little warmth was left within Naruto's body. Naruto was shivering severely as he held himself in a self-hug, wanting more heat. Sasuke cautiously lifted his hand up; he extended it closer to Naruto who was watching it skeptically. Sasuke rested his hand on Naruto's Goose-bump coated arm, Naruto tensed at the touch and glared at Sasuke. Sasuke ignored the glare and rubbed Naruto's arm, friction was made between Naruto's arm and Sasuke's hand causing Naruto to warm up. Heat flowed from Naruto's arms and throughout his body as Sasuke rubbed the other in a soothing manner, Naruto's harsh pants slowed down as he unintentionally walked closer to Sasuke's body for more warmth.

Sasuke inwardly smiled as Naruto snuggled into his chest and lay there for a while, Sasuke felt Naruto's body heat up and his goose bumps disappeared from his skin. Naruto slowly slid his arms up around Sasuke's waist and closed the gap between them by pushing their chests up against each other's. They were around the same height by now so it was difficult to rest on one another, all though Naruto found an alternative by resting his forehead on Sasuke's. Sasuke took a chance; his breath caught in his throat before the words could leave his throat, now was the perfect time to test it… why was he so worried? Sasuke took a calming breath and closed his eyes. "…Naruto…?" His words were cautious as he breathed them out.

Naruto opened his eyes and flashed his blue orbs at Sasuke before closing them again, "…Bastard…" Sasuke felt his heart (_literally_) stop. It was Naruto… true and honest _Naruto_. Sasuke constricted his arms around Naruto's neck and pulled him into a tight hug, Naruto leaned back a bit trying not to be strangled, "…Oi…! I can't breath!"

Sasuke loosened his grip, much to his dismay. "Is that you? Is that _really_ you, Naruto?" Sasuke asked again, he wanted to know if he wasn't hallucinating this whole fantasy of his. Naruto stepped back and away from the Uchiha, "What do you mean Bastard? Of course it's me!"

Sasuke blinked "But… the Kyuubi--" Sasuke paused when Naruto's eyes went dull and wide

Naruto's eyes widened, fear and worry was visible in his clear, blue eyes, "Kyuubi? You don't mean… that I… that he… that it…" Naruto couldn't grasp the right words anymore, each time a word left his lips… it faded away before he could finish the sentence. Sasuke tilted his head to the side, Naruto didn't remember…? Naruto's fingers trembled with anger and fear, it… _no_… he… had done this, all of this. Naruto could barely remember anything… the last thing he could recollect would have been the moment he latched on to the necklace… and everything seemed blank after that.

Naruto's eyes flashed a shade duller, his hands flew to his mouth as the urge to cry and scream became almost consuming. Naruto clenched his eyes shut and ignored Sasuke's pleas for him not to worry. Not to worry?! How couldn't he! He had hurt so many people… the sickening taste of blood was dancing in the back of his throat, it was _disgusting _as the taste swam throughout his mouth. Naruto half-gagged on the blood residue within his mouth and spat it out on to the moist ground, Naruto coughed and hissed as the tang of his victim's blood was still floating around within his taste buds. Sasuke let out a growl of frustration, every time Sasuke took a step forward to comfort Naruto he would take two steps back. It was even more difficult than before.

Naruto let out a low whisper that was barely audible over the pouring rain, "who did I hurt…?"

Sasuke looked up and set his gaze off to the side, he couldn't just tell Naruto straight out that he had attacked Sasuke in his uproar of bloodlust and had severely injured Gaara in the process. Sasuke coughed awkwardly and shuffled his feet; Naruto was staying eerily silent… which unnerved Sasuke in a strange way. Naruto sniffed which gave Sasuke a slight shock at the sudden noise; Naruto chuckled mildly when he saw Sasuke tense up causing Sasuke to send him a playful glare. Naruto shifted uncomfortably and let his, unusually tense, shoulders drop, Sasuke sighed and looked at Naruto. It was for the best… "You hurt me and Gaara." He left5 out all the agonizing details, hoping Naruto wouldn't ask.

"H-how?" Naruto bit his lip; he knew what the Kyuubi was capable of… "H-how severe were both your injuries?"

Sasuke cursed mildly under his breath, the gods were against him lately… But he knew he couldn't lie to Naruto… "You used your Chidori and made a hole through my shoulder…" Naruto winced and gulped, Sasuke continued knowing he couldn't stop now… "And you broke Gaara's neck…" Sasuke inwardly cringed, still hearing that sickening crunch of Gaara's neck breaking.

Naruto's face paled, his eyes went so dull they looked like a faded tinge of black although the blue was still visible. Sasuke cringed and looked away, no emotions were evident in Naruto's perfect features… it was completely _blank_. Naruto looked down at his feet and turned on his heel and faced away from Sasuke, "Oh." Sasuke did a double take, he had absorbed all that crucially horrific information and all he could say was '_oh_'?!

Sasuke clenched his fists in silent anguish but released them when Naruto continued to talk, "I… see now that I'm just another threat to this village… and it would be best… if I leave, and Sasuke--" Naruto turned his head and looked over his shoulder, Sasuke was listening so he continued "—Tell Gaara that I am _terribly_ sorry…"

"What are you talking about idiot? You're making no sense…--" Sasuke's voice trailed off as Naruto sped off through the trees, Sasuke sneered and ran after Naruto. Sasuke cursed loudly out at Naruto as he continued to run at an incredibly fast pace.

Naruto swerved in and out of trees, trying anything that would get Sasuke off his trail. If he could get far enough ahead, the foggy mist wouldn't allow Sasuke to see too far and the rain would've covered up his tracks already. Even though Naruto knew he was clinging on to blind hope, he continued to run. Sasuke's sharingan was so excellent that it could detect him in a heartbeat. Naruto could sense Sasuke's chakra coming closer, he sighed and quickened his pace. Sasuke moved faster as Naruto began to disappear into the rain mist, it was hard to move across the slippery flooring without falling over although Naruto's ninja-like grace plus the added ability of a fox made it easier on him. Sasuke swore loudly out at Naruto, hoping it would slow him down in the slightest. Of course, it didn't.

Naruto's feet pounded against the muddy ground as he continued to run away, he didn't know where he was going… hoping that he would lose Sasuke soon so he would choose a new destination… a new life. Naruto hissed as his foot hit the ground harder than before, it made a cracking sound although—despite the searing pain on his right ankle—Naruto continued to scamper at the same fast past. Sasuke saw Naruto slip off to the side and noted faintly the strange direction Naruto's ankle had swung off too. Sasuke's foot slid over the dirty ground and pulled a tender muscle in his leg, Sasuke sorely keep running trying his hardest to catch up to Naruto.

Naruto panted, as his breath became short and his throat burned with the wanting of air. Naruto weaved around a tree and started off in a new direction, unfortunately for him Sasuke followed with ease. Naruto now had absolutely _no clue_ where he was or where he was going. Sasuke glared at the distant figure of Naruto, what exactly was running through his head at the moment? '_And it would be best… if I leave' _Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed as he kept running, '_of course… he wants to start over… or maybe he's planning to--_' Sasuke's eyes widened in fear.

"Naruto! Slow down! It'll be ok! You idiot!" Sasuke tried desperately called out for Naruto to stop running, but it didn't help, as Naruto's pace seemed to only increase in speed

Sasuke panted heavily and continued to run, they had been running at the speed for at least 15 minutes, to be honest Sasuke was wondering how they hadn't ran into any ninja. Pushing that ponder aside, Sasuke pushed himself to the brink of speed… his legs cracked up and down as his feet barely touched the soggy grass while he ran. Naruto slowed down as he took several dangerous swerves around trees, he skidded to a halt when he heard water lapping up against some rocks. Naruto slipped his feet across the slippery rocks and fell; a bleeding graze marred the side of his exposed, left leg. Naruto cursed the fox's power as it healed up instantly.

Naruto crawled up to the edge of the slippery rocks and watched as the rip tide surrounded water splashing up against rocks and created an upwards water spray, which just lightly splattered over Naruto's face. Sasuke ran to a stop as he saw Naruto leaning dangerously over the edge, Naruto looked over at Sasuke and stood up. Naruto's eyes were wide and held no emotion; Sasuke took a step forward and immediately regretted it when Naruto took a step backwards so the heel of his foot was dangling over the edge of the rocks. Sasuke took a step back and held his hands up defensively, "Naruto… get away from the edge, you could slip and fall" Sasuke warned

Naruto looked at Sasuke, the water below, and the sky and then at Sasuke again, Naruto shook his head and glared. "No, not until you let me leave peacefully… instead of trying to capture me." Naruto stated with a sneer, Sasuke was about to protest but then he thought over Naruto's proposal. Naruto stays safe… but Sasuke would never get to see him again, although Sasuke could agree to it and tackle him to the ground before he got a chance to run. Sasuke nodded and stepped off to the side, Naruto's feet wobbled over the sharp rocks as he made his way closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke watched Naruto intently as his feet were being constantly jabbed by the pointed rocks; Naruto was almost past Sasuke when he was tackled to the ground. Naruto flipped Sasuke over as he knew Sasuke's plan, "You bitch! You thought I would actually fall for _that_!" Sasuke sent Naruto an icy glare and watched as Naruto's hatred bled into his glare. It hurt Sasuke to see so much hatred in his eyes.

Naruto jumped away from Sasuke and ran over to the edge again, "I'll do it Sasuke! Let me _fucking_ go in peace or else…" Naruto hissed out, his fierce look never faltering once. Naruto's heels rubbed against the rocks as he shifted backwards again, "Don't you dare Naruto!" Sasuke growled and took a step forward.

"Stay awa--" Naruto's foot slipped on the wet rocks as he shifted back again, Sasuke's eyes widened as he rushed forward to reach out and grab Naruto. But he missed. Naruto fell down into the freezing waters and was swept away with the current, Sasuke could still hear that haunting last scream of Naruto's as he fell. Sasuke stood up and hastily removed his weapons and curled his toes over the edge before jumping off the edge himself, risking his own life to save the one he loved…

"Naruto!"

* * *

(Avoids getting dictionaries embedded in skull) Whoa! GOD! How long was that? A month? Two years? Who cares?! ME! You! EVERYONE!  
Aww… my birthday is next week… on September 6th… And my dad won't be there, just like last year… (Sigh)  
anyway! I hope you all enjoy this extended chapter ehehehe… (Plays dead) 

And my excuse? No. I have no excuse… Something just kept getting in the way every time I had started typing, DAMN YOU PAIGE!

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	24. Chapter 24

-Gasp- I've been having the worst week of my life, my friend is making me so… jealous! I could kill her! I will shred her into tiny pieces, put them in the blender and turn it into a smoothie for my wolves to devour! Mwuhahahahaha—ehehehe… anywho… on a lighter note…  
My friend and I saw two hot gay guys making out at the train station! XD they were just sitting there, and this old lady glared at them… we wanted to push her down the stairs! Nah, that's mean… but still!  
_**Thanks for the awesome reviews!**_

**Please read: Never Forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – It's the greatest!**

**Disclaimer**: Gosh! If I did own Naruto, I would make Sasuke some prissy uke so I would show all those SasuNaru writers that Naruto is no GIRL!!! (Gets soup cans thrown at her again)

* * *

_-- Previously --_

"_Stay awa--" Naruto's foot slipped on the wet rocks as he shifted back again, Sasuke's eyes widened as he rushed forward to reach out and grab Naruto. But he missed. Naruto fell down into the freezing waters and was swept away with the current, Sasuke could still hear that haunting last scream of Naruto's as he fell. Sasuke stood up and hastily removed his weapons and curled his toes over the edge before jumping off the edge himself, risking his own life to save the one he loved…_

"_Naruto!_"

* * *

Sasuke folded his arms over the bleached white covers of the bed; he leaned forward on a conveniently placed chair and sighed. Naruto lay lifeless in the bed with the covers pulled up to around his neckline; Naruto's breathing was uneven and slightly hitched, Sasuke rubbed his forehead and winced as his fingers ran over a gash. Sasuke's body was littered with minor cuts and grazes from the sharp rocks in the waters, even though his condition was not even half as worse as Naruto's. 

Naruto had several deep wounds running down his cheeks and over his whiskers, his chest had a large puncture wound to the right and what was a long wound starting from his left shoulder down to just above his right hip is now just a pale scarring, thanks to the Kyuubi's help. There were scratches and bruises covering the rest of his body, they were pretty bad considering the fox's chakra hadn't healed them already. Naruto's body twitched in agonizing pain as each breath he exhaled was like a silent scream of torture, Naruto whimpered as his body shifted in its sleep. Sasuke hadn't stopped watching over him from the minute he had brought him to safety, they had to examine his wounds in the room Naruto was being held in for he wouldn't move an inch away from the lifeless blonde.

Sasuke tilted his head so it was lying on the side of his arms, Sasuke's eyelids felt heavy… he was sleep-deprived but he wanted to keep awake so hard. What if Naruto woke up? What if he had amnesia after all those hits to the head? What if it was something worse? Like brain damage? Sasuke shivered at the last thought, it was scary to think that Naruto could die… Sasuke pushed himself up, his forearms stayed rested on the bed as his head lowered he stared into the pure white sheets that blinded him with their cleanliness. Sasuke clenched his fists and glared at the material, '_If only we had been more understanding when he was younger…_'

Sasuke blamed himself most of all, all the childish acts and name-calling may have only intensified Naruto's hatred towards everyone. Sasuke sighed and placed his head back on to the soft bed, '_at least he's here and safe_…' Sasuke forced himself to let a small smile play across his lips, he sighed and rolled his head on the bed so he was facing Naruto's sleeping, angelic face that was flawed with cuts.

The silent Uchiha failed to hear the intruder, the door creaked open slowly and a pink-haired kunoichi peeked around the door. Sasuke's mind was replaying the whole scene inside his head. Sakura stayed silent and placed down two trays of food, one on to the bench beside Naruto and the other on the chair next to Sasuke. Sakura scraped a vacant metal chair across the floor and sat opposite Sasuke, she played with Naruto's floppy bangs and sighed in content, happy that he and Sasuke were both safe. While Sasuke continued to reminisce.

**--****Flashback****--**

_Sasuke's body crashed into the icy waters it felt like he had fallen on to concrete, Sasuke gasped for air as he resurfaced from the water. Sasuke looked around desperately fro the blonde, not to off in the distance was Naruto as he was clinging on for grim death on a rock that was petruding from the waters. Waves crashed up and sprinkled the freezing water over Naruto, each time it did it was causing Naruto's grip on the slippery rock to falter. Naruto's nails scratched over the surface of the rock as more water made him slip; Sasuke began to swim over to Naruto and tried his hardest to fight the swift currents. Sasuke coughed as water and air mixed at the back of his throat, Naruto's nails cracked off the deteriorated rock and made indents in the already misshapen rock._

"_Naruto!" Sasuke yelled out from beneath the tides, Naruto opened one eye and squinted at Sasuke as the water had made his vision blurry. Sasuke grabbed on to a nearby rock and scratched the side of his pale waist; Sasuke winced but leaned forward and extended his spare arm out towards Naruto. The water rose slightly causing Naruto to choke on the unexpected taste of dirtied water, Naruto spat out the water and shifted himself around the rock while throwing Sasuke a miserable attempt at a glare. "Get away from me!" Naruto hissed and made a swipe at Sasuke's hand._

"_Naruto! Don't be stupid! You'll die out here, now give me your hand!" Sasuke made a pathetic attempt to grab Naruto's clenched fist, Naruto growled and pulled his hand away from Sasuke's grasp. Naruto slipped on the rocks and his legs tight grip around the jagged rock, his legs and arms were sliced on the rocks creating large, deep cuts across his skin. Naruto cried out in a low shriek and tried his best to stop the wounds from bleeding, Naruto's back collided with another petruding rock and Naruto's face smashed into the rock as well causing him too loose consciousness. Sasuke dived into the currents as Naruto's lifeless body sunk into the depths of the waters, Sasuke clutched on to the nearest rock unsteadily and reached down into the waters. He couldn't feel Naruto._

_Sasuke began to panic, ignoring all the caution that his brain was screaming at him, he dived into the murky water and went searching for Naruto on feel alone. Sasuke's hand rubbed over Naruto's, he grabbed it willingly and hoisted him and himself up to the surface. Sasuke gasped for air while Naruto stayed deathly silent, a draft piece of wood scratched over Sasuke's open wound, Sasuke winced but grabbed a hold of it to check Naruto. Cuts, bruises, gashes and fresh scars were scattered everywhere of Naruto's pale body, Sasuke leaned down towards Naruto's mouth and waited. Naruto took a silent yet sharp intake of air; Sasuke sighed in comfort and let the wood float away._

_Sasuke cursed mildly and swam over to another rock, thanks to the rapids his progress was painfully slow. Sasuke panted as he dragged Naruto on to the safety of a rock, he could see the safer waters not far off… if he could just get over to them, everything would be fine. Sasuke pulled Naruto into his arms and looped his arm around his waist so he could still swim, Sasuke faltered as water filled his lungs. He coughed madly and spluttered the water out; Sasuke felt him being carried away with the tides and used all his willpower to get over to the calm waters… He made it with Naruto there safely._

_Sasuke dragged his own with body and Naruto's on to the small shore, Sasuke lay beside Naruto's pale face that almost rivaled his. Sasuke feigned a small smile; his shaky hand moved on its own will and rubbed Naruto's cold cheek. Sasuke's eyes dropped to half-cast he suddenly felt so deprived of sleep… it was almost consuming and willing his body down into a limp state of slumber. Sasuke shifted closer to Naruto and held him close, "I love you" It was a hoarse whisper, but he meant every word…_

_The last thing Sasuke could remember of that moment before everything blurred out… was Sakura's shrill voice.  
"Tsunade-sama! They're over here!"_

**--****End Flashback****--**

Sakura coughed awkwardly, trying to grab Sasuke's attention. Sasuke jolted up in confusion and stared Sakura in the eyes, "Sakura? What are you doing here?" Sakura's gaze traveled over to the food she had prepared for Naruto and Sasuke, Sasuke followed her gaze and formed an 'o' shape with his mouth in understanding.

"I thought you might be hungry… I don't know when the last time you ate was… but –considering the bags under your eyes- I can tell you haven't slept in a while either… Maybe you should rest--" Sasuke interrupted her ramblings

"No! No matter how tired I get, I am _not _leaving Naruto!" He seethed; Sasuke jumped up while yelling at the kunoichi in rage and had knocked over his chair in the process. Sakura tilted her head and gave him a sympathetic look; Sasuke snorted and muttered, "…Don't give me that look…"

"Sasuke-kun… I know that you love Naruto… but _please_, you need to sleep… I swear, if Naruto wakes up while you're asleep I will wake you up immediately" Sakura clasped her hands together and pleaded to him, Sasuke threw her a look so she silently stop the act

"Do you promise?" Sasuke asked hesitantly and fiddled with them hem of his shirt like a small child

Sakura placed her hand in the air and the other over her chest where her heart was supposed to be, "I promise, Sasuke-kun" she added with a smile

Sasuke eyed her wearily before sighing and nodding, "I'm sleeping in here though…" He kicked off his shoes and placed them beside the vacant bed near Naruto, he flopped atop the covers and practically melted into the softness of the bed. The soft pitter-pattering of rain was soothing in a way… Sasuke felt his body grow limp and his arms felt heavy as they slid off the side of the bed. Sakura stalked over to him and pulled the warm blankets up to his neckline, before throwing another blanket on him for extra warmth. Sasuke sent her a sluggish smile; "Hey Sakura…" sleep was slowly dawning on his so his words were partially labored and slurred

Sakura held down her skirt as she sat down on the edge of the bed, she sent him a small smile and replied to the drowsy Uchiha "Yes, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke turned on his side and closed his eyes as he rubbed his face up and down against the soft pillow

"Thanks… you're truly… a good… friend"

Sakura was slightly taken back by the response, she wanted to question the shinobi but he had already dozed off. Sakura sighed and looked over to the clock on the wall, it was 3:21pm Sakura sighed and rubbed her eyes and pulling the skin below them up and down in an attempt to keep her awake. Seeing her two former teammates sleeping away their troubles away, made her feel incredibly tired as well. Sakura shook her head and looked between the two sleeping shinobi, from Naruto's limp, torn and withered body to Sasuke's partly marred face. Sakura sighed and stared into her lap as she fiddled with her fingers, "I can't fall asleep… No matter what! This is my duty –even if it is just staying awake…- I shall abide by his orders!" Sakura cheered quietly and slid off the bed and onto a spare chair that was beside Naruto's bed.

Sakura politely crossed her legs, placed her elbow on her raised knee and cradled her chin in her palm. She let herself feign a sad smile as she looked over towards the dark-haired man, "Oh Sasuke-kun… how much of my life did I waste on you for your love?" She said aloud to herself. Sakura looked back over at Naruto and her fake smile faltered and fell off her face, "Naruto… I'm sorry I was never kind to you… I was so blinded by love I could never see your true beauty…" She blushed slightly in embarrassment and as she saw Naruto's gorgeous features… why hadn't she noticed them before… Sasuke was like a ghost, and yet Naruto used to be the sun that lightened up her whole life… no matter how horrible she had treated him… He had always been there for her, until…

Sakura sighed and scooted her rusty chair closer to Naruto, she pressed her chin on to his smooth, tan arm as his head fell to the side in his sluggish state. Sakura stared into his blank, sleepy face and tried to look beyond it, although Naruto had closed off every emotions left in him… and looked _dead_. Sakura let her expression sink into a frown, how far had they pushed him over the edge to make him this… concealed? Sakura furrowed her brow and brushed away Naruto's fallen bangs out of his eyes, Sakura shuddered when the door slammed open. She swiveled around in the chair and her eyes came in to contact with the pale, cream eyes of Neji Hyuuga. His pearl eyes were narrowed into an intense stare at Naruto but softened when they noticed his battered up state, his attention diverted back to the pink-haired female who was staring at him expectantly, "Is Naruto alright?"

"Yes, but I know that's not what you came here for…" Sakura's stare never faltered as she eyed the Hyuuga carefully, his expression wasn't screaming 'bad news' so maybe… good news?

"Orochimaru has fled the area… we are just finishing off the final stragglers that he left behind, although he left everyone behind, Anbu have gone after him and hopefully will assassinate him…" Neji said and let out a relieved sigh, it was over…

"I'm glad… I'm really, really glad…" she said, her voice containing excitement and happiness as she was over all ecstatic with said news, Sakura pounced over to Sasuke's side. Grinning from ear to ear. "Ne, Ne! Sasuke-kun! Did you hear? Orochimaru will be killed!" She knew perfectly well that Sasuke couldn't hear her soft whispers to him, but she did it anyway…

Neji raised an eyebrow but said nothing, he turned around and left with nothing more than one last glance. Sakura knew Neji has left the room but wasn't bothered to acknowledge it, he knew that she had thanked him in her own silent way… her smile said it all. Sakura sighed and twirled a loose pink bangs around her finger idly, Sakura leaned forward and managed to hear the Uchiha's soft whisper as he dreamt… "…Naruto…"

Sakura leaned her back up against the hard chair; tears pricked her eyes as she felt her heart sink for the dark-haired shinobi. Sakura slipped off the chair and stood up, Sakura pushed Naruto's bangs backwards as she leaned down close to his face. Sakura's lips only just brushed over Naruto's forehead in a friendly kiss, Sakura sat back down pulling her hand away from Naruto's face. She stared down into her lap and let the tears leak out slowly, the water crystals fell down and crashed into her palm creating little pools of waters. Sakura closed her hands and felt the wet droplets soak into her skin, "Im so sorry Naruto… I always was cold to you when I was younger… but… I realize now… you're one of my most dearest friends… even more so than Sasuke-kun…" Sakura took a quick glance over her shoulder to see the sleeping Uchiha and went back to staring into her lap "Yes… definitely more so than Sasuke-kun… we cannot blame you for being angry at all of us… and giving into the Kyuubi… we created this monster… so… _truthfully_, we're the ones to blame…"

Outside the door, Tsunade paused as she heard Sakura pour her heart out to the unconscious blonde. Tsunade closed her eyes and backed away from the door, Jiraiya came bounding up to her with a smile that said 'I just got laid by 40 beautiful women' Tsunade eyed him carefully and broke out in a smile, it was obvious what had happened "They found him?"

"YES!" Jiraiya fell to the ground in a praying position, "Thank the lords…" Jiraiya sighed and stood back up, he placed his hands on his lower back and pushed until his back made a gross crack sound. Jiraiya grinned at the disturbed look on Tsunade's face, he chuckled mildly under his hand as Tsunade sighed and ran a hand through her silky blonde hair that was tied into two loose pigtails that were draped over her shoulders, Jiraiya smiled and knocked her elbow with his "Lets go celebrate, lets go drink!" His wide grin never faltered as each word past his lips.

Tsunade smiled whole-heartedly "Oh… what the hey!" Tsunade and Jiraiya walked off to the bars, while Sakura was still silently worshipping her two boys. Sakura blushed, she had yet to notice how hot they were as a couple… was it safe to call them that? Naruto obviously returned Sasuke's feelings and Sasuke had confessed. Would it truly make them lovers?

Sakura looked down at her lap again, she has hardly thought about her love life… Sure she was dating Lee… but how far would their relationship go? Ino loved Shikamaru, Shikamaru loved Ino. Hinata loved Kiba, Kiba loved Hinata. So many of her childhood friends were involved in a romantic relationship already, but she had yet too see Lee within the past 6-4 days… maybe a passing glance or two, but that would be it. They were far too busy to mingle over the past few days; Sakura twiddled her fingers, still in deep thought. It was true, she truly missed Lee to no extent… not seeing him was painful, she sighed and vowed to go see him once Naruto woke up. Sakura scooted her seat closer with getting off it; she placed her elbows on the soft covers and rested her chin in between her palms as they were pushed up against each other. Naruto twitched restlessly in his sleep; he hadn't stopped for a while now… '_Is he dreaming…?_' Naruto let out a suppressed whimper or more like a silent cry '_He is dreaming… but of what?_'

Naruto trembled in his sleep and jolted up out of his sleep and into a sitting position; Naruto trembled and held himself in a self-hug. Naruto choked in a gasp of air and stared down at the beds sheets "…These dreams…" Naruto's uneven breathing evened out; at that moment her realized he wasn't the only one there. Naruto looked to the side and saw Sakura staring at him with a blank expression, he looked over and saw Sasuke sleeping peacefully but that's not who he was confused to see "S-Sakura?" He blinked twice and rubbed his eyes, he wasn't hallucinating… Sakura, the person who despised him as a child, was watching over him as he slept

Sakura was lost for words, Naruto was awake… normal… no hemorrhage, no brain-problems… he was fine… like he had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. Before Sakura could form a sentence in her mouth to ask Naruto, she had leapt off the chair and began shaking the unconscious Uchiha wildly "Sasuke-kun get up! Naruto's awake! Get up!"

"W-W-Wha…?" came the Uchiha's slurred words

"Naruto is awake!"

* * *

OH MY GOD! ROFL, my friends and I wore tiaras on my birthday XD Mine was pink, 'cause imma princess! Anyone who says different can go shoot themselves. Now then… Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter… it was basically just a bad filler… but Meh! 

Oh Oukoku hatsu! You are sooooo… good to me (teary-eyed) she's so… sweet! (Anime-style waterfall tears) gosh! She's awesome :)

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	25. Chapter 25

Im back! Gah! I'm in a cuddly mood! And im scaring away people… Except my pets—No… my kitten Naru ran away when I tried to hug her… At least my puppy isn't running away! And you _loyal_ fans won't run away from my cuddles now will you…? (Hides shotgun) …_well?_  
**Random audience member** QUICK! EVERYBODY OUT THE WINDOWS!  
W-wait! There are no windows in here! (Hears crashing sound) oh… never mind then… (Backs away slowly)

_**Please read: Never Forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – It's the greatest! (Just like the author!)**_

**Disclaimer** No. I don't own Naruto… now leave a fan girl to her hopes and dreams of SasuNaru in the manga… (Floats away)

* * *

_-- Previously --_

_Sakura was lost for words, Naruto was awake… normal… no hemorrhage, no brain-problems… he was fine… like he had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. Before Sakura could form a sentence in her mouth to ask Naruto, she had leapt off the chair and began shaking the unconscious Uchiha wildly "Sasuke-kun get up! Naruto's awake! Get up!"_

"_W-W-Wha…?" came the Uchiha's slurred words_

"_Naruto is awake!"_

* * *

Sasuke jolted up from the bed, almost colliding foreheads with Sakura in the process, and looked over at said blonde. Naruto looked like he was in a daze, his eyes were half-mast and his shoulders were slumped forward in a tired fashion. Sasuke swung his legs over the side of the bed, avoiding Sakura of course, and stood up. He was a tad wobbly on his legs, as he wasn't used to the sudden movement, Sasuke managed to walk himself over to Naruto's bedside and sit on the bed. Naruto turned his head slightly so he could see Sasuke, Naruto blinked slowly and opened his mouth to speak… but the words never came. His throat began to burn and he silently whimpered at the horrible feeling that was descending down his throat, Sasuke's brow furrowed in confusion but his eyes softened when Naruto's gaze met his again. 

"Why'd you bring me back?" Naruto hissed silently but instantly clutched on to his throat as it began to burn again

Sasuke was taken back by the sudden question, Sasuke's face darkened as he looked down into his lap and away from Naruto. '_That's right… he didn't want to be saved…_' Sakura twiddled her fingers senselessly and bit her lip in confusion; she silently took her leave so they could talk things over. Sasuke bit his own lip in anger, he did it too stop him from exploding and saying things he shouldn't… Naruto had a right to not want to come back… even if it wasn't his fault. Sasuke heard the door creak shut as Sakura left the room, he sighed and looked back at Naruto, now he could talk freely without Sakura objecting in between his sentences. "Naruto it--"

"--Was for my own good?" Naruto finished his sentence for him, raising an eyebrow arrogantly at Sasuke

Sasuke blinked before nodding "Yes. It was…"

"How would you know?!" Naruto choked out, his eyes burned through Sasuke's coal ones

"Naruto, don't yell at me idiot!" Sasuke bit back. Naruto clenched his hands tightly, his blunt nails digging into the soft flesh on his palm. Naruto took a weak, delayed punch towards Sasuke's face; Sasuke easily caught the punch and held the clenched fist in a frail grasp. "I don't want to fight…" he tried to speak in a calm tone, but anger was evident in his words as he spoke. Naruto snorted and took back his hand with a glare, "…for once…" Naruto sneered under his breath.

Sasuke glared but let it slide; Naruto was already skating on thin ice with the Uchiha's patience. Sasuke leant forward to kiss Naruto's forehead, Naruto abruptly pushed Sasuke away and sent him a blazing glare. Sasuke was slightly disappointed at Naruto's reaction but didn't press it on him; he shifted awkwardly on the bed and avoided eye contact with Naruto's as said person was still glaring. Sasuke's eyes narrowed inwards as he stared back at Naruto, "Why do you want to leave so much? Ever since you came… you've been wanting to get away" Sasuke watched Naruto's expression change from a fierce stare into a dull frown, Naruto's expression darkened as he looked down at his scarred hands that twitched with the raw nerves still being repaired. Naruto bit the inside of his cheek as he tired to remember exactly _why_ he had wanted to get away from everything in the first place…

"…I knew this would happen… When I first left Konoha, the Kyuubi was being well behaved… his attempts to take over had diminished in quantity and was rather silent all the time. Of course, I was worried about it… the Kyuubi had never been so well behaved in his life, so it was really shocking for him to be so… quiet. The first few months were great, I got a lot of training done with out the sarcastic remarks of the parasite the would push me over the edge from time to time. But… then, Akatsuki and Orochimaru began to attack me… minor things like, as I slept or when I had just finished training… but they began to get more vicious and rampant, it was beginning to get harder and harder to defeat them… from time to time I would use the fox's chakra to help me, and then… the Kyuubi began to become more evident inside of me. I couldn't sleep thinking that the Kyuubi would manipulate me into thinking that I should hurt everyone." Naruto took a deep breath; Sasuke's expression was blank as he was having a hard time trying to soak in all the newfound information.

"I was frightened when I overheard them talking, they were saying that they would attack Konoha knowing that I wouldn't dare go back to protect them…" Naruto chuckled darkly "oh, how stupid I was to fall into their plan… and _now_… I've hurt people I really care about…" Naruto began to tremble, the pictures of Gaara's beaten body flashed through his mind like an old film. The images of Sasuke's broken arm and bloodied clothes made him cringe and swallow hard. "I can only blame myself for this… although, if you had let me go when I had asked… this wouldn't have been an issue…" Naruto gave Sasuke a weak glare

They both slipped into an awkward hush, the silence became thick and most noises were blocked out by each of the men's pounding thoughts. Sasuke couldn't help but think over Naruto's last sentence, '_if I hadn't of offered up my house for him… then… could this all have been avoided? Or would've Orochimaru found some way to make his plan successful?_' Sasuke's face sunk into a deep frown, Naruto was busy staring out the window that was portraying the grey sky darkly. Naruto watched as birds flew out of trees when a loud crack of thunder sounded like the deadly crack of a whip, he didn't falter as the sky let out another frightening crash of thunder. Naruto looked at Sasuke with a sideways glance but turned back to look at the sky, "Oi… Sasuke…?"

Sasuke looked up and at Naruto, "Yes?"

Naruto took a short, dejected glance at Sasuke, "Have you ever wanted… to be so far away from somewhere… you wished you could fly away?" Naruto's question was… strange. Sasuke had never heard anything like it, his normal intention was to snort and call him an moron for making up such idiotic questions… but Naruto wasn't quite in the state to deal with Sasuke's sarcasm right now, so he replied normally (well, as normal as Sasuke can be)

"What do you mean Naruto?" his eyes narrowed into a questioning stare

"It's… nothing… never mind…" Naruto placed his elbow on his kneecap and let his chin rest in his hand, "Although… I have… I've wanted to get so far away; I didn't care where it would lead me… …I've wished I could fly…" Naruto said in a soft tone, it was barely audible. Sasuke shifted on the bed silently and continued to stare at Naruto.

"Why?"

"Why would you care?" Came Naruto's instant reply in a matter-of-fact tone, Sasuke gave Naruto his infamous Uchiha glare but didn't start a brawl. If he started a fight, Naruto would hit him and he would hit back… and in Naruto's state, it would be very bad.

"Why do you act like this? You're acting like--" Naruto interrupted his sentence with his own answer

"You?" Naruto raised an eyebrow and gave Sasuke a questioning glance, Sasuke glared at Naruto again.

"No…" he seethed out through clenched teeth "a bastard… you're acting like a complete and utter _bastard_."

"Yeah, like _you_…" Naruto emphasized the 'you' and he let a small snicker escape through his lips, Sasuke clenched his hands into fists but suppressed the urge to punch Naruto in the face.

Naruto smirked darkly and turned back towards the window. Leaves fluttered in the dying wind, as a large gust had blown them from the safety of the tree branches. Sasuke turned his gaze from Naruto to the window; the sky was turning a darker shade of grey as the rain clouds began to reform in the sky. He felt a cold draft blow through the window, he went to close it but Naruto's dark voice stopped him. "Don't touch it…" he hissed out, Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing any invisible dirt from his clothes.

"I guess I'll be going then…" Sasuke muttered, inspecting Naruto's battered body

"Good." Naruto snorted, not even bothering to give Sasuke a passing glance

"Sakura left your food there…" Sasuke pointed to the food tray on the table beside Naruto's bed, Naruto gave it a quick glance and shrugged "I'll be back either later or tomorrow, good bye."

"Hmph." Naruto snorted, Sasuke sent him a glare before leaving and slamming the door shut causing the whole room to shift. Sasuke groaned and laid back on to a nearby wall, people passing by the Uchiha decided to ignore him knowing that his patience would break any minute now. Sasuke ran his hands down the side of his face, he pulled the skin on he cheeks and let go making his skin jiggle and wobble back into its original place. He let out a long, annoyed groan and pushed himself up off the wall, Sasuke tensed and un-tensed his shoulder before deciding to go home…

**-****Later****-**

Sakura juggled a plate of food in one hand while he tried to twist the doorknob, she managed to open it slightly so she pushed open the door with her butt. She greeted Naruto with a bright smile, which was returned with a dreary frown. Sakura continued to smile at Naruto even though he wasn't watching her, Sakura looked over and saw the food was untouched. Sakura sighed loudly and placed the tray under the other one and stacked food bowls on to of one another. She looked over at Naruto who hadn't changed his position of staring out the window, she sat down on the bed and watched him skeptically "Not hungry?" Sakura asked casually, she watched Naruto's gaze silently switch from the window to her and back again before replying.

"I guess…" He was being uncooperative with his recovery

Sakura tilted her head to the side with an innocent smile playing across her lips, "You'll get sick if you don't…" She sung

"I don't care…" Naruto copied her tone of voice and then snorted, "Let me get sick and die, not like I'll care or anyone else would."

Sakura scowled and grip the edge of the trays forcefully, her blunt nails actually making indents in the soft plastic. Her eye twitched in annoyance as she watched a sinister smirk dance across Naruto's merciless expression, "I would care, you _jerk_!" Sakura hissed and scratched the plastic tray again. Her nails made marks that barely scratched the surface but could been seen if you were to look closely, Naruto raised his eyebrows in mild alarm but ignoring the silent threats she was making towards him.

Naruto scoffed and turned away, he pulled his legs up to his chest and sighed. Sakura bent forward and placed the trays on the floor; she lent backwards and reached for Naruto's hand, which he abruptly pulled away from with a glare. Sakura sighed and placed her hand where Naruto's hand was, he looked at it skeptically with a scrutinizing glare. Sakura ignored the stare and soft in a soft voice, "Naruto… please listen… no matter how much you deny it or be a bastard about this whole thing, we love you and always will love you…"

Naruto snorted and turned away as Sakura continued her speech, "Sasuke-kun loves you so much the fact that you want to leave him again is heartbreaking enough, but if you leave he will surely not continue on with his life. Are you any better than him? Leaving without a trace and being chased after for the rest of your life like some animal?!" Her voice was getting higher and angrier, "Naruto you're so lucky that you're in this condition right now… or so help me god I would've kicked your ass across Konoha by now! And that's only me! Imagine what Sasuke would do to you if you were acting like this normally!" Naruto scoffed and looked at her with a devilish smile

"You're just trying to gain my trust… and when I want to stay, you'll turn on me again and execute me! I know you…" Naruto growled and tried to kick Sakura off the bed

Sakura abruptly stood up, her face red from anger. "You—You—You little bastard! How dare you treat me like some piece of crap! Stop acting like a bloody spoilt brat!!" Naruto turned back to her; his eyes were –literally- burning with rage

"_Me_ stop treating _you_ like some piece of _crap_?! You're joking! Last time I checked you treated me like the dirt underneath you're feet! I worshipped you, Sakura, and all I ever got was the cold shoulder! You little _bitch_!" Naruto yelled in blind fury, '_how dare she… can't they realize im doing this to protect them? …Maybe… I can get them to hate me enough so they wouldn't care whether I left or not… but this could be difficult_'

Sakura's words died in her mouth before they could leave her lips, Naruto glared and snuck underneath the covers trying to hide himself from the world. Sakura looked down at her feet and shuffled them absentmindedly, "Aa… you're right… I don't know what I was saying…" Sakura looked away "it's true… I did treat you like that… and all the apologies in the world would make it right…" She paced over to the trays that lay forgotten on the floor; she picked them up and headed for the door. Once again she was juggling the trays in her arms as she fiddled her way to open the door, after opening wide enough for her and the trays to get through, she took one last glance at Naruto before exiting the room.

"Please… forgive me… I'm really sorry…" and with that, she left the room without saying anything more…

Naruto snorted and buried his face into the soft pillow, he glared out the window as the room was eerily dark thanks to the little lighting there was left in the sky. Rain was still pouring and making a soft drumming beat on the windows and rooftop, it was like its own way of lulling someone to sleep… Naruto's eyes drooped as he felt slumber wrapping its arms around him and forcing him into sleep, Naruto's eyes closed shut as he couldn't stand to deny it any longer. He was tired, he needed sleep… the odds were against him once again, Naruto sighed in pure bliss as he felt the warmth of sleep consume his soul.

**-****The Next Day****-**

Sasuke quietly squeaked the door open; it banged gently up against the wall behind it and stopped all movement as Sasuke let go of the brass doorknob. Sasuke waited in the doorway as he snuck a glance at Naruto, he was… asleep… or so he thought. Naruto's eyes were wide open as he stared blankly at the ceiling; Sasuke pushed the door back until it closed shut with a light click. He took careful, calculated steps towards Naruto's bedside, he glanced over to the side and saw his breakfast laying untouched on the table beside him. Sasuke knew that Naruto wasn't eating… he would've woofed down the delicious meal by now… Sasuke grimaced as he took another glance at it; well… maybe it wasn't all that delicious. Sasuke sat down on a chair beside Naruto's bed; Naruto hadn't moved an inch since Sasuke came in except for the fact he had to breathe. Sasuke's chair creaked in an old fashion as he moved it closer to Naruto; he leaned over and rested his arms in the bed making it sink down slightly. Sasuke wasn't good at making the first shot at a conversation… but for Naruto's welfare he should at least try… "Hey Naruto, how's it going?"

Naruto stayed silent, he took a slow blink but made no further movements. Was he even blinking before Sasuke spoke? Sasuke ignored his self-asked question. Sasuke licked his lips and gave Naruto a half-smile; he was failing miserably at trying to lighten the mood, Naruto took another slow blink and his hand twitched absently as he took a breath. Sasuke shifted uneasily on the bed and shuffled himself closer to Naruto's still body; he reached over to touch Naruto's face. Sasuke's fingers barely brushed over Naruto's cheek as he jolted backwards when he felt like he had been electrocuted, he looked over Naruto's face incase he had burned him… no wounds persisted on his face. Sasuke shook his head and cursed his imagination, Sasuke noted that Naruto's gaze diverted from the ceiling to the window when he had inspected his face.

Naruto's lifeless eyes stared back up at the ceiling, he couldn't bear to look at the dull, dreary outside world that he wanted to escape to so much… why couldn't they just do the smart thing and let him leave? Naruto had tried asking them, he'd tried running, he tried making them hate him enough to let him escape… but no, nothing seemed to get him away. He basically reduced to begging, but he wouldn't sink that low… not yet at least, Naruto swallowed hard as his throat was sore from little communication, "Let me go…"

"Naruto?" Sasuke was astounded that the Kyuubi vessel had spoke, although it wasn't all that good, at least he was talking…

"Let me go…" Naruto repeated after taking another slow blink

"I can't… I wont…" Sasuke scrunched his pants legs in as his hands created tight fists

"Let me go" the wasn't the least bit of remorse in Naruto's voice, which _frightened_ Sasuke…

"No." Sasuke straightened his posture as he replied, giving Naruto a dirty glare

A pause. "Let me go" Naruto just wouldn't give up; he turned his head and faced Sasuke while giving him a dark stare

"Why do you want to leave so much?"

Naruto's eyes softened as Sasuke asked the dreaded question again, he had asked him so many times… how many more times would he like Naruto to answer it? "Its to protect you… Just because Orochimaru has been caught, do you think he _really_ was the worst of our problems? I'm a handful myself… with everyone hating me every second of every minute of everyday… and I doubt you have forgotten Akatsuki? They're not dead, just because Orochimaru failed doesn't mean they won't try… I can't explain my reason any clearer… it your choice whether you want to believe it or not…" Naruto huffed and turned over so his back was facing Sasuke, Sasuke sat there silently as he stared at Naruto's scarred back.

"They're not after you… or anyone else in the village… they're after me… the Kyuubi vessel… you're not safe around me… So _please_ let me go." Naruto stated in their awkward silence…

"I won't." Sasuke stated clearly making no room for questions, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave Naruto a sophisticated smirk… of course Naruto couldn't see it but he didn't care.

"…Let me go…" Naruto sighed and groaned as he pushed himself up weakly from the bed, he had lost so much blood it was hard for his body to recuperate even with the Kyuubi's help…

"No matter how many times you ask… the answer will still be the same, so, No." Sasuke stated arrogantly

Naruto swung his head around and gave Sasuke a dirty glare; Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored it. Every time it would end up the same, talk for a few seconds, fight, glare and then repeat. It was annoying. Naruto winced when he felt a crack in his neck when he lowered it; it stung as he gave it a half-hearted massage with his hand. Sasuke breathed heavily through his nose in boredom, Naruto groaned in discomfort and fell face first into the soft mass of pillows. It smelt like blood, sweat and… tears? Naruto felt last nights dream bleed through his body, it was frightening as he relived all those frightening ordeals he had dreamt of. Naruto growled and threw his pillows across the room, the smacked against the wall and fell too the ground silently. Sasuke turned to Naruto with a questioning glance.

"Naruto?"

"Make those memories stop… make it stop!" Naruto whined as he clutched on to his head in pain, Sasuke paused and his mind fell blank. Naruto whined louder and hit his head against the wall, it wasn't helping but it made him feel better. The loud crack of bone hitting into the concrete wall broke Sasuke from his thoughts, Naruto whacked his head up against the wall again making another loud cracking sound. Sasuke grabbed his shoulder and forced him to avoid damaging his head again, a bruise was already beginning to form on the side of Naruto's face just beside his temple. Sasuke glared at him, "Oi. What's wrong with you?"

Naruto threw his fist into Sasuke's jaw, Sasuke, not expecting to be hit, flew backwards and into the wall. He groaned slightly and shook his head; Naruto jumped off the bed and pressed his body up against Sasuke's harshly. Sasuke's back and head hit into the wall as Naruto crashed into him, Naruto held Sasuke's shoulders tightly as he forced himself to looked into his eyes. Naruto narrowed his eyes into a glare as a flash of lightning illuminated the dark sky, the fear in Naruto's eyes was so clear Sasuke could practically see it. "You're only making my nightmares worse! Let me leave! Or else… I can't be held responsible for my actions…" Naruto trailed off, digging his nails deeper into Sasuke's shoulders.

"I won't lose you again." Sasuke mumbled softly under his breath

"Listen to yourself! You're putting yourself and everyone else at risk! Doesn't that bother you in the least?!" Naruto cried, he was getting desperate…

"I'll admit… it does bother me, but I would rather put that all at risk if you'd just stay…" Sasuke stated quietly, it was truly selfish to put his friends and loved ones at risk just to have Naruto there with him

Naruto lowered his head and stayed silent, he hands still placed over Sasuke's shoulders. Sasuke's feet shifted uneasily as a thick silence took over, Naruto's soft breaths and Sasuke's awkward ones were the only basic sound around them. Sasuke lifted his hand and placed it on top of Naruto's head ad he spoke up, "Naruto…?"

"You idiot…" Naruto's hands slid up until they rested on Sasuke's collarbone, "You're such an idiot…" Naruto's fingers constricted around Sasuke's neck and Sasuke began to choke on the little air that was left in his throat. Naruto's fingers tightened again and it was becoming difficult to breathe, Sasuke took a sharp intake of air and Naruto's fingers tightened again. He couldn't breathe. Sasuke choked out and tried to tear Naruto's hands away from his neck, sore tears filled the edges of Sasuke's eyes as the feel of death was become clearer and clearer each second.

Sasuke choked out a painful cry as Naruto's fingers gave a quick twitch of pressure on his neck again, Naruto's hands paused and shakily tore themselves from Sasuke's neck, Sasuke breathed in and out heavily trying to regain his breath. Naruto stared down at his shaky hands and felt tears roll down his face, "Im… truly a monster… god no…" Naruto looked up at Sasuke with teary blue orbs, Sasuke stared intently at Naruto in shock… he had tried to kill him… Sasuke looked down but stared right back at Naruto when said man spoke, "Im… so sorry Sasuke… I… never meant to hurt you… the Kyuubi he… just got the better of me… but that still can't explain what I did…" Naruto hastily wiped the tears away and continued, "Im so, so sorry… Please forgive me…" Naruto continued to wipe at the falling tears but was failing miserably to make them stop falling.

"Naruto… you're forgiven… it's ok really…" Sasuke cooed lightly, he leaned closer to Naruto who just shuffled back and away. "No… I don't deserve your pity… please…" Naruto whimpered and shuffled further away

"Naruto…"

"I don't… deserve it… I don't…" Naruto fell lifelessly to the floor; his face was pale and cold. Sasuke, on reflexes, jumped to the floor and began examining Naruto's body, he was still breathing and but his heart was beating rapidly.

"Naruto, get up! Naruto!"

* * *

…To be honest I have no comment. 

_Can I borrow a feeling…?  
Won't you lend me a jar of love…?  
Hurting hearts need some healing…  
Take my hand with your glove of LOVE!_

**Reviews Are Love.**

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	26. Chapter 26

Ah… My friend is having a fight with this girl who thinks she's my friend, and I can't be rude to her because we're partners for an assignment… gosh, this is not good. Could someone help me out here?

**Please read: Never forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – its sooooo awesome!**

**Disclaimer** I don't own Naruto…

* * *

-- Previously -- 

"Naruto…"

"I don't… deserve it… I don't…" Naruto fell lifelessly to the floor; his face was pale and cold. Sasuke, on reflexes, jumped to the floor and began examining Naruto's body, he was still breathing and but his heart was beating rapidly.

"Naruto, get up! Naruto!"

* * *

Sasuke watched over Naruto like a hawk, his eyes never left the young nurses moving hands over his chest. Naruto still looked quite pale but his original tanned skin was beginning to bleed away the pale tone of his skin, Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto's forehead and placed a hand over his own. Naruto's was burning up as he was showing symptoms of fever, Sasuke looked down worriedly at Naruto before sending the nurse a glare. The nurse sent him a sideways glance before continuing on with her work, "I know what you're going to ask Uchiha-san…" She said unsteadily, not really keeping her concentration on her words at the moment. 

Sasuke ignored her and asked said question, "Why aren't you doing anything for Naruto's fever? He's burning up!"

The nurse let his rude tone of voice slid and replied "I'm not going to treat him just yet--"

"—But that's your job!" Sasuke interfered with a low growl

"…I _will_, however, get you to give him these tablets--" She shoved a bottle of pills into Sasuke's hand, "—he'll need them most likely when he first wakes up, he may complain of a headache so they will help cure that and the other symptoms that may occur." She looked at Sasuke skeptically as a worried look scarred his placid face. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and rubbed it gently with his thumb, the nurse looked back at him with a small sigh.

Sasuke seized his motions and held Naruto's hand close to his face; the young nurse was just about finished her inspection of the Kyuubi vessel. She leaned back up and smiled at Sasuke, "He'll be fine Uchiha-san… he was just too weak and since he had lost a critical amount of blood, it was difficult for his heart to be under so much stress which caused him to pass out." She stated clearly, she looked over Naruto and continued her diagnosis "He'll need to rest for a while… but when he wakes up I _need_ you to make sure he eats, he is terribly under weight and Hokage-sama would have my head if he died of starvation!" The nurse shivered in fright and walked out of the room after seeing Sasuke's nod of approval.

Sasuke heard the door click shut and he let out a sigh of relief, he ran a hand through his hair and exhaled his caught breath slowly. Sasuke stretched his arms outwards and climbed on to the bed so he rested besides Naruto's lifeless body. He laid his head down on Naruto's chest and yawned beneath his hand, Sasuke placed his chin atop Naruto's chest and felt his steady heartbeat. His heartbeat was normal and his breathing was regular, Sasuke let out another sigh of relief and let himself relax into the warmth of Naruto's chest. He turned his head so it was back in its previous position. Sasuke casually turned his gaze from Naruto's face to the windows, raindrops calmly spattered against the glass and Sasuke sighed in content. He watched as they slid down the cold, frosted glass until they stop at the edge of the frame, he didn't flinch when a loud clap of thunder echoed throughout the dark sky.

The whole room went dark as the last shed of light in the sky diminished; a cold breeze picked up and blew through the partially open window. Naruto's body temperature dropped dramatically and he began to shiver, Sasuke moved over and pulled the body-heated blankets up to around their necklines. Sasuke pulled Naruto into his arms and gave himself a half smile; Naruto's body heat began to increase steadily as he subconsciously scooted closer to Sasuke for warmth. Sasuke smirked and placed his chin on to of his head and fell into the black abyss that was slumber…

**-****Later****-**

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open to see darkness; the pure black night sky had the shadows mingling with the dimness of the room. Despite how dark it was, Sasuke could still see Naruto's golden hair. Sasuke smiled mildly and nuzzled Naruto's hair with his face; Sasuke squeezed Naruto tightly in his half-hearted hug. Sasuke's body drank in the warmth of Naruto's, he sighed and it echoed throughout the silent and empty room and corridors. Sasuke's eyes drifted closed as he felt the slumber pulling him down deeper into the warmth of the bed. Sasuke sighed in pleasure as his body lingered in the state of wake and sleep, "Sasuke? You awake…?"

Sasuke perked up at the sound of Naruto's voice, he looked down for his eyes to meet with clear blue ones. Naruto stared at him sleepily as Sasuke returned the stare with the same expression, "Yeah…?" was his slurred reply, he hadn't meant for it to sound so down but it just came out that way. Naruto faltered for a second, his words died in his mouth before he could reply.

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes into the back of his head, even though he would _love_ to hear what Naruto had to say… he just couldn't keep himself awake. Naruto's fingers idly played over the edges of Sasuke's shirt, he licked his lips absentmindedly and opened his mouth to speak again. Naruto took in a sharp inhale of air, his breaths were delayed and hitched from the slowly rising fever that was weakening his body every second. Sasuke yawned politely behind his hand as sleep was dawning on him once again; Naruto swallowed the last ounce of saliva in his mouth and opened his mouth to speak once again, "I… want to protect you all… I love everyone so much, especially you…" Naruto's voice was hoarse as he whispered; although he was surprised he had actually spoken clearly.

Sasuke may have been half-asleep, but he heard that loud and clear. "Really?" He asked in surprise, Naruto nodded and continued, "Yes… But, if I was to protect you I have to leave… it's not a choice I want to make… but you have to understand." Naruto looked up sternly and stared into Sasuke's eyes.

"I know, that's true… but Naruto, please stay… I'm sure most people would agree that we would be safer from Akatsuki if you weren't here, but Akatsuki would still attack, knowing that you would come back and protect us. Now _you_ have to understand that…" Sasuke stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

Naruto stayed eerily quiet, Sasuke's words hitting him hard. Sasuke groaned silently as he felt his body being pressured down into the warm depths of his sleep, Naruto looked up and noted dimly that Sasuke was falling asleep again. Naruto coughed lightly as the effects of the fever were taking their toll on his body, Naruto clutched tighter on to Sasuke's shirt and sighed loudly. Sasuke blinked rapidly and looked down at Naruto, Naruto looked up at him and closed his eyes as he spoke "I'll stay…" Naruto bite the inside of his cheek and opened his eyes to look at Sasuke's expression, it was mixed between shock, relief and happiness.

Naruto looked down at his hands, trying to ignore the strange stare he was being given. Sasuke hugged Naruto tightly; he let a smile slip into his expression as he held Naruto. Naruto pulled away from the hug and stared at Sasuke, "where is Gaara?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Naruto, who just gave him a stern stare that wouldn't falter in a million years. Sasuke sighed and looked over towards the door, "why?"

"I need to apologize, face to face." He stated quietly, pushing himself up from the bed and on to his own wobbly legs. Sasuke was ready to catch the wobbly patient in an instant; Naruto caught himself before he fell back on to the bed. Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Alright… He's just down the hall…his room is 341." Sasuke stood up to follow but was pushed back down; Naruto shook his head and spoke up.

"No, you stay here."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke questioned with a tilt of his head

Naruto simply nodded before he slowly made his way over to the door, Naruto pushed the door to a slow shut as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Naruto looked both ways, the rooms went in ascending order and he was in room 329 so he went left. Naruto crept up the hallway making as little noise as possible, even when he would step on creaky floorboards they wouldn't make much of a sound considering his weight. Naruto watched as the door numbers climbed higher and higher, he stopped walking hesitantly when he realized he was already at 340. The next door was partially open and the moonlight illuminated through the small opening in the door, Naruto lowered his head in shame. '_What if he doesn't forgive me…?_'

Naruto swung his arms and shuffled his feet idly; they had begun to feel heavy like lead weights. Naruto shifted closer to the door, he could hear faint breathing from the patient. Naruto looked back; there was a large window on the wall at the end of the hallway. The dark sky was painted in various blues and was speckled with the pure light of stars; the moon wasn't facing the window as it was creeping through the windows on the side of the building already. Naruto looked back and pushed his palm up against the door slowly, it let out a low creak as he pushed it further and poked his head around the corner. Gaara's head snapped in the direction of the doorway, his eyes narrowed in the direction of Naruto and he turned his head away. "Uzumaki."

Naruto lowered his head and stepped inside the small room, closing the door shut behind him, he stood silently at the edge of the room in an awkward manner. Neither of them spoke, the tension in the air was thick. Naruto didn't like it being like that, although he couldn't bring himself to break the silence. Naruto could feel his heart beating rapidly, he was afraid. Thousands upon thousands of questions raced through Naruto's mind, 'will he forgive me?' 'Will he hate me?' 'Will he hurt me?' 'Will he _kill _me…?' Naruto shuddered inwardly at the last thought; Gaara avoided complete eye contact, not even a slight glance was given towards Naruto. Which made Naruto feel all the more worse.

Naruto dawdled slightly; he lifted and dropped his feet in discomfort. Naruto could tell Gaara was pissed off, by how his breath was coming out in short grunts from his nose. Naruto contemplated leaving and trying again later… or tomorrow at least, Gaara's scowl deepened with each passing minute. Naruto sighed inwardly and turned on his heel, his hand rested on the doorknob about to turn it when Gaara gave a sigh of… _pity_? Naruto shook his head; Gaara and pity were like water and oil. "You didn't come in here to waste time, Uzumaki."

Naruto turned around and looked down at his feet, "Yeah… You're right…"

Gaara shifted on the bed so he could see Naruto's downcast expression, Gaara saw Naruto's eyes divert to him so he beckoned for him to come closer half-heartedly. Naruto hesitantly obeyed his commands and crept forward, Naruto stopped at about 1 meter away from Gaara's bedside. Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow and let his face sink deeper into a scowl, "well?" Gaara spat out sending Naruto a venomous glare, Naruto looked up at him with a stern face.

"I'm sorry…" Naruto felt like the world had been lifted from his shoulders when those words left his lips, "I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, _so_… sorry." Gaara ignored the pleas that Naruto was spluttering out at him, "Please don't ignore me Gaara… if you want to hit me, hit me. Just please… answer me."

Gaara took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Naruto…" Naruto perked up at the sound of his name

"Y-Yeah?"

Gaara inhaled and exhaled again, "Naruto… I know it was the Kyuubi no Kitsune's influencing you to kill me--"

"--And im so sorry!" Naruto interrupted with a beg of sorrow, Gaara ignored him and continued talking

"—And I understand you had no way of controlling the Kyuubi's actions, so I forgive you…" Gaara said in a matter-of-factly tone, Naruto looked down at his feet in with a depressed expression gracing his features. '_Why aren't I happy? He forgave me… I should be glad… but why do I feel so pitiful_?' Gaara looked at Naruto and rolled his eyes, "what now Uzumaki? I forgave you, go on and smile." He stated in a drab tone of voice.

"I… feel terrible about what I've done, I could've _killed_ you Gaara. You shouldn't forgive me so easily and blame it on the Kyuubi…" Naruto muttered under his breath and looked down at the doorway, Gaara gave him a deranged look that clearly said '**WTF**' Gaara shifted his body around and swung his legs over the side of the bed, and gave Naruto a sympathetic look.

"Why do you let yourself get hurt Uzumaki?" Gaara sighed and placed his elbow on his knee and cradled his chin in his palm, Naruto looked over at Gaara with a questioning stare.

"What?"

"You are forgiven. I don't care what you've done to me, it wasn't your fault… you couldn't have stopped the Kyuubi's rampage even if you tried. Forget about it." He growled but gave out one last sigh before turning away from Naruto's forlorn stare.

Before Gaara knew what was going on he had been tackled into a hug, he groaned when his neck snapped to a side and an unknown weight was lying on top of his stomach. Naruto pressed his warm forehead into the crook of Gaara's neck as he gave him a hug; Gaara sat there awkwardly allowing the other demon vessel to cuddle him. Gaara wasn't the one to hug people, Naruto knew, so he wasn't expecting him to return his heart-filled hug. "A million apologies couldn't explain how sorry I am for hurting you--"

"—Would you stop with the sorry's?" Gaara hissed and glared down at Naruto, "its getting _really_ annoying Uzumaki." Gaara shifted and leaned back on to his hands, Naruto didn't stop hugging Gaara as he began to spurt out more excuses for Gaara to hate him, "Please… just think about this… I _could've_ taken your life."

"The Kyuubi could've taken my life." Gaara hissed and pushed Naruto away from him; Naruto fell off the bed with a small grunt. He didn't dare look up at Gaara as he spoke, "you're not going to hate me for this are you?" Naruto sighed and brought his knees to his chest and laid his forehead atop them. Gaara let out a small chuckle, it was the closest Naruto was sure Gaara had come to laughing normally, and laid his head back on the pillow behind his head. "No."

Naruto looked up and smiled at Gaara, "Thanks." Gaara raised his hairless eyebrows in surprise, Naruto laughed and tackled Gaara painfully into a hug. Gaara groaned and pushed Naruto into a more comfortable position for him, muttering a "must you always do that…?" darkly under his breath. Naruto laughed and pulled out of the hug, so he sat on the end of the bed with a small smile. "You're always there for me aren't you Gaara?" Naruto said softly

"Not really." Gaara replied in an instant with a snort, "I've hardly ever been there for you… but when I'm there… I'm there." He exhaled his words in between a yawn; Naruto beamed at him and tackled him into yet another hug, Gaara gave him a look and Naruto pulled away instantly as if he had been burned. "S-sorry… I'm just so… happy… the happiest I've been in a long time… maybe in my whole life" Naruto sniffed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand as it began to run from his cold symptoms. Gaara patted him on the shoulder and spoke up, "Go on, I can tell the Uchiha is waiting for you."

"How did you--" Gaara interrupted Naruto's sentence

"His constant cursing at the nurse's wasn't something that could be ignored with his deafening voice." Gaara growled

Naruto laughed and grinned at Gaara, '_it's so good to see him smiling and laughing again…_' Gaara thought dimly within the twisted depths of his mind. Naruto slipped off the bed and gave Gaara one last smile before running down the hall at a fast pace and back into his own dorm, Gaara watched Naruto leave and _strangely_ found himself smiling too. What was even _weirder_… was that he couldn't stop.

Naruto ran down the hall, his feet barely touching the ground as he ran into his room and tackled Sasuke into the bed and pillows. Sasuke was slightly taken back by the sudden weight and intruder in the room so he let out a girlish yelp of fright. "What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked a little uneasily, Naruto laughed loudly and grinned widely at Sasuke. "Nothing baka! Im just happy… the happiest I've been since…" Naruto looked down and away from Sasuke as a blush grew on his face.

"Since…? When?" Sasuke asked quietly, not noticing Naruto's blush in the darkness

"Since…" Naruto looked up at him and Sasuke felt his own face grow hot when Naruto looked deep into his eyes with pure desire, "… we first kissed…" Naruto pulled himself closer to Sasuke and pressed their lips together in a hot, soft kiss.

Sasuke deepened the kiss and with a dominating lick on Naruto's bottom lip, it became a wild battle of the tongues as they danced with one another in and out of each other's mouth. Sasuke won the dominance battle, although they didn't care who was winning. Sasuke pulled away when the need for air became to great, he held Naruto's face within his cupped hands as they both panted and smiled at each other. Naruto let a small blush scatter over his cheeks as he watched Sasuke smile with him; Sasuke spoke up in a hoarse whisper, "Don't ever leave me…"

"I won't, if you won't" Naruto promised with a smile and a wiggle of his pinky

Sasuke smirked and hooked his pinky with Naruto's, forever promising that neither one of them would leave each other again.

* * *

**OMG!**

I would've had this updated ages ago, but my homophobic friend came to visit me (not that im complaining) and before that my computer had a massive, unscheduled shut down and I lost all my work… but to be honest, I don't care! I'm happy! I hadn't seen Elise-chan for four years!! I missed her so, so much! SO MANY HUGS IN JUST FOUR DAYS… I lost count after ten on the first night…

Okay, I'm still deciding whether this should be the ending or not… either way, I'm going to do an epilogue! (Bows and gets knocked out by rock)

**Reviews are Love.**

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	27. Chapter 27

KYAH! I wasn't going to do this but eztli reminded me that Naruto hadn't apologized to the others yet…  
**so a big thanks to eztli!!!**  
OMG!! It's been a non-stop scream fest at my house! Im terrified of bugs! (Waits for everyone to stop laughing) and moths are flying EVERYWHERE! _SERIOUSLY_! Everywhere you look, there's a moth! (Shudders) I can't sleep at night; I'm so –_freaking_- paranoid!

**Please read: Never forgiven by Oukoku Hatsu – it's the greatest thing since sliced bread!**

**Disclaimer**I don't own Naruto… no matter how much I bribe Kishimoto-sensei…

* * *

_--Previously--_

_Naruto let a small blush scatter over his cheeks as he watched Sasuke smile with him; Sasuke spoke up in a hoarse whisper, "Don't ever leave me…"_

"_I won't, if you won't" Naruto promised with a smile and a wiggle of his pinky_

* * *

Naruto woke up easily, his mind was clear of all thoughts. Naruto yawned and stretched out his arms, his turned over to come nose to nose with Sasuke. Naruto bit down on his tongue to suppress the yell that was now caught in his throat, Naruto let the yell be breathed out into a low sigh as realization dawned on him. '_Right… Sasuke and I… are together now…_' He thought calmly. Naruto looked at Sasuke's peaceful face with a small smile playing along his lips; he pushed the long bangs out of Sasuke's eyes and chuckled to himself. How could some one so dark, look so cute? Naruto chuckled again but in a low tone, hoping that he wouldn't wake the Uchiha. Naruto groaned and held his stomach as hunger pawed at his senses, Naruto looked down at his naked chest and stared in awe at his caving in stomach. He held his hand over the rumbling stomach, if it could be even called that anymore, in hope to soothe the famished beast that was his stomach.

Naruto's stomach let out a loud growl of disapproval; hunger was getting the best of him. Naruto placed the back of his hand over his forehead to see him temperature, he sighed in sadness when his forehead seemed hotter than the day before. Another loud growl sent Naruto almost crippling over in pain, Naruto whined in pain as his stomach felt like it was being pulled further and further into his body. Naruto panted lightly as the growls of hunger seemed to vanish slowly, Naruto swallowed hard and sat back up waiting for the pain to come back. It did. Naruto let out another loud whine; his head burned with a fresh headache and his stomach was practically eating itself again.

Naruto looked over to the door when he heard it click open, Sakura stood there with a steaming bowl in one hand and a water bottle in the other. Naruto was ecstatic to see her, although his stomach made quick work of that as it sent him moaning in pain yet again. Sakura visibly shuddered at the loud howl of pain Naruto emitted, she quickly closed the door and rushed over to his side. Sakura carefully, but quickly, rested the bowl and water on the table beside herself and placed a loving hand on Naruto's back in concern, "Naruto, are you okay?"

Naruto winced and looked over at Sakura, "Sa-Sakura-chan?" Naruto looked at her with one eye closed before turning back into his original position, "I f-feel… horrible…" He said around a groan

"Well, if you eat… then you'll feel better! I bought you--" Naruto interrupted quickly before she could say anymore

"No… I feel horrible about hurting you… I can remember vi-vividly that I burnt you…" Naruto looked over and saw a small bandage wrapped around a segment of her arm, "I didn't mean to… but im so, so sorry…"

Sakura was taken back by the sudden desperation in his voice as he begged for her forgiveness, "But… yesterday… you were… I mean…" Sakura glanced over and saw the sleeping Uchiha, '_Sasuke-kun…_' her shocked expression was replaced with a smile, "oh Naruto-kun… of course I forgive you… how could I not? You're like the brother I never had!" her smile widened as she said the last sentence, Naruto gave her a pain-stricken smile

"Thank y-you… Sakura-chan…" he choked out in a hoarse tone of voice

"H-here! Eat! Eat!" she said shoved the steaming bowl in front of his face, Naruto sniffed up the warm steam and his mouth began to water

"R-R-Ramen…" he said in a dreamy tone, Sakura giggled and broke his chopsticks in half before handing them to him

As fast as it took Sakura to break the chopsticks in half, Naruto had finished. Sakura stared in amazement at how fast the noodles had been eaten; Sakura shook her head and smiled at him. "You'll always be the same Naruto… no matter what!" She laughed and Naruto laughed along side her

"H-hey! Wait! What's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto sent her a playful glare and she just laughed harder

Sakura's schoolgirl-ish laughter died down into a small chuckle, Naruto looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs in nervousness "H-hey Sakura-chan?" Sakura looked up and gave him a small 'hmm?' in reply, Naruto looked over at her with a pleading face "I know I don't deserve it… but, could you go get me some more ramen? I haven't eaten in days!" he whimpered looking down at his still caved in stomach

"O-oh! Of course!" she laughed and ran out the door, she poked her head around the door before she left and said "drink some water! You'll feel much better!" and she was off.

Naruto gave a sideways glance at the water bottle; he reached over and popped the lid open before drinking the cold contents of the bottle. The cold water ran down his throat and soothed it dramatically, he sighed in content as he let his bottle-head rest on his lips. Naruto shuddered at the sudden whine from his previously 'dead-to-the-world' partner. Sasuke let out a whiny yawn and stretched his arms outwards as he began to just wake up, Naruto laughed and greeted him. "Mornin' sleeping beauty!"

Sasuke groaned sleepily and slapped a hand over his face before dragging it and his face down, he rubbed his eyes and groaned again. Mornings weren't his forte. Naruto pressed his lips against Sasuke's cheek and pulled back with a cheeky grin, Sasuke gave him a strange look but then turned into a smirk. Sasuke's smirk turned into a devilish grin before pouncing on Naruto and pushed his weight on to his stomach, Naruto gasped as Sasuke's warm, moist lips pressed down on his. He took his chance and pushed his tongue into Naruto's mouth, Naruto's tongue began delicately brushing against Sasuke's as it explored every inch of his mouth.

"Sorry if im interrupting…" Sakura said slowly, they pulled away with a yelp as the pink-kunoichi lingered in the doorway of the room

"N-no… it's okay, Sakura-chan…" Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head; Sakura laughed and placed a hot bowl of ramen under Naruto's nose.

"Ne, ne… it's _Miso_!" She dragged out the last word as it sensually dripped off her tongue

"R-really…?" Naruto drooled as he watched over the hot contents of the bowl, Sakura giggled in reply and gave him a pat on the back "Thank you _Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan_, Thank you!"

Sasuke looked away in jealousy as Naruto showered Sakura in gratitude, Sasuke coughed awkwardly and pulled out the small container of pills that he had received from the nurse. He shoved into Naruto's hand and closed Naruto's hand for him, Sasuke leaned forward and whispered into Naruto's ear "make sure you take these, I'll be back around night time… okay?" Sasuke gave Naruto a chaste yet sensual kiss on the cheek and crawled off the bed, "see ya Sakura" he threw a wave over his shoulder and exited the room

Sakura blushed at the scene she had just witnessed and gave Sasuke a shy wave, "bye…" Naruto laughed and dug into his food slowly, so he could savor every moment of it. Naruto made a loud 'slurp' as he sucked up the noodles that were dangling in mid-air above his half-eaten bowl. Sakura sat idly in her chair as she watched Naruto finish the rest of his noodles and let out a sigh of content.

"Ah… that was great Sakura-chan! Much better than Ichiraku's!" he complimented, Sakura flushed and blinked

"But… how did you know I cooked them?" Sakura asked, giving him a quizzical look

Naruto laughed and gave her a knowing look, "I can tell…" he said giving her a devilish wink, Sakura flushed again and punched him in he shoulder

"Y-you idiot!" she huffed and turned away from him with a snobby pout

Naruto just laughed and Sakura soon found herself laughing as well, Sakura stood up and collected the bowls "you better take that medicine, or else Sasuke-kun will have both our heads." She walked over to the door, "I'll be back later to check on how you're healing… the others may want to come and visit so be aware."

Naruto titled his head in confusion, "be aware?"

"I mean… well, they may not accept as easily as Sasuke-kun and I did…" She trailed off, hoping he wouldn't take offence to it

"…And Gaara…" Naruto whispered under his breath with a smile

"Eh? Gaara? You mean he forgave you?" She asked a little taken back, '_I would've thought Gaara wouldn't be so easy to forgive…_'

"Yeah! I was having the hard time trying to actually accept that I was forgiven so easily," Naruto stated with a sigh

"Oh ok…" She walked out the door throwing a small 'bye' over her shoulder as she walked out the door. Naruto looked down into his hands, '_what if she's right? I mean… they can't __**all**__ be as forgiving as her, Sasuke and Gaara… can they?_' Naruto crossed his legs and pulled the still warm covers over his legs, '_I guess…. I can only hope for the best…_' Naruto let out a sigh; he propped his elbows up onto his knees, entwined his fingers and rested his nose atop them.

"There's nothing to do except sit here and heal…" Naruto said quietly to himself, he took a quick glance at his still caved in stomach and groaned '_…I'm still hungry…_' he whined inwardly as his stomach let out a low growl of hunger

"Maa… need food? We bought some!" a voice boomed through the doorway as the door creaked open

Naruto's head snapped in the direction of the doorway, it was Kiba and Hinata. Hinata hid out of view behind her boyfriend, she clutched onto the back of his shirt innocently and looked over his arm at Naruto. "H-hello Naruto-kun…" she stuttered quietly, looking away as if his gaze on her burnt her. Naruto frowned and looked away dejectedly, "I see you haven't forgiven me for attacking your friends…" he said solemnly

"N-no! That's not it!" Hinata yelped instantly, Kiba and Naruto both sent her a look, which made her blush and look away in embarrassment

"Hinata's just shy about seeing you again…" Kiba chuckled and pushed Hinata into the room while he closed the door

Hinata and Kiba sat on the bed that was on the other side of the room, Kiba gave Naruto a toothy grin and dangled a bento box in front of his face. "Hey, Hey! Look what Hinata made for you!" Kiba said and winked at Hinata, who just blushed and looked away, Naruto smiled in gratitude "Thank you, but honestly you didn't have to…" Kiba's face dropped

"Dude! You're wasting away to nothing and you're telling us not to feed you?" He shook his head and clicked his tongue in disappointment "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto… you're still as stupid as ever!" Kiba laughed and gave Naruto a wide grin

"Hey! I'm not stupid, dog-breath!" Naruto joked giving Kiba a playful whack on the shoulder, Kiba kept laughing

Kiba's laughter eventually died down, "So ya gonna eat it or what?" he gave Naruto a wink "_…Hinata made it…_" Naruto sent Kiba a weird look, who just ignored it with an arrogant smile. Naruto watched the bento box sway back and forth as Kiba held it daintily between his thumb and index finger, his stomach gave out a loud growl as the scent of tempura prawn filled his nose. Naruto looked away as a light pink blush dusted his cheeks "it _is_ tempting…" Naruto thought aloud

"Come on… it's got _rice… tempura prawn… and __**wasabi**_…" Kiba taunted Naruto as he leaned closer and waved the food back and forth in front of his gaze

Naruto looked away, "I can't accept this food…" he stated, his stomach gave a silent hiss of disapproval towards his choice

"I think you're stomach would disagree with you on that." Kiba gave Naruto a knowing look, who just sent it back with a heart-hearted glare

"P-please Naruto-kun… You look really hungry." He said boldly and shoved the bento box into his clasped hands, she shuffled back into Kiba's arms with a vivid red blush across her cheeks

"Well… if you insist…" he said uneasily, Kiba heaved a sigh and muttered a 'finally' under his breath

Naruto unwrapped the napkin around the box and lifted of the lid to be presented with an array of delicious food, the rice was decorated with a small umeboshi in the middle, tempura prawn was scattered around the edge of it while two small dishes of wasabi and soy sauce sat in the bottom corner. Naruto eyes wandered over it all, "It looks delicious Hinata…" Naruto drooled as he looked over the box again; he picked up the chopsticks and grabbed a piece of tempura prawn. Naruto dabbed the piece gently in the soy sauce and ate the food slowly, so he could savor every moment of it.

"Hinata… this food is amazing…" he sent her a dazzling smile, which was happily returned in an instant

"W-why thank you Naruto-kun…" she let her smile fade as he took another bite of the food she had lovingly prepared, Kiba sniffed as the mouth-watering aroma of the food filled his nose.

"Man… seeing and _even_ smelling your food makes me hungry Hinata… speaking of which it's about lunch time!" Kiba said taking a short glance on the clock up on the wall beside him, he turned to his girlfriend with a grin "will you make me some of that?"

"O-oh! O-of course Kiba-kun!" she smiled and nodded vigorously at him, Kiba grasped his small hand in his and stood up with Hinata by his side. Kiba gave Naruto a playful whack on the back and this complimented it with a pat on the shoulder, "See ya 'round Naruto!" He began to take his leave with Hinata who was spewing out farewells at Naruto, Naruto laughed and gave them a wave.

"See ya Kiba! Hinata!" They gave him one last smile before leaving.

Naruto sighed in content and placed the empty bento box up on the table beside him, he let his gaze wander back over to the box as he sat there pondering '_gosh, she's a good cook… wow._' Naruto rolled over and swung his legs over the side of the bed, he swung his legs back and forth in boredom. Naruto propped his elbow up on the table and rested his chin in his palm, he heaved a loud sigh and yawned. His stomach was feeling moderately better; thanks to the nourishment he had gotten from Sakura and Hinata. Naruto let his mind wander, thinking over all the possible people who could be visiting him… '_Ino? Maybe… Shikamaru? Well, if Ino goes he'll get dragged along for the ride… Sai? Definitely no. We haven't exactly been on 'good terms' lately… Neji, Tenten, Lee? Well… I'm guessing that, Lee would be more than happy to come to see me… an Tenten would go if Neji did… so… eh…! It's so confusing!_' Naruto sighed and flopped on to his back on the bed, he turned his head to see a medical nin rush past the door with medicinal herbs in her arms.

He chuckled inwardly, Konoha had changed so much… people had grown up, changed, became new people… Naruto sighed; he entwined his fingers together and rested them at the base of his neck as he continued to ponder everything that had been happening in the last few weeks. He stared at the ceiling in thought, '_Sakura has grown into a beautiful young girl… Sasuke has gotten… well… he's gotten… um… oh! He's just god damn sexy!_' Naruto clenched his eyes shut as he thought over Sasuke's body '_ah… I guess I never noticed before…_'

Naruto pushed his head back further so he was looking out the window upside down, '_mm… still raining…_' he let out a sigh and returned to his previous position, the silence in the room was almost deafening if it were not for the barely audible chatting that was coming from outside his room. Naruto closed his eyes as he began to fall victim to the gentle hum of the rain splattering against the window and rooftop, he let a small smile play across his lips in pure bliss.

"Naruto" his eyes cracked open as the familiar feminine voice filled his ears

Ino swung her head around the door, her long-ish blonde swung with her and she gave him a dazzling smile. She skipped into the room and wrapped her skinny, long arms around his neck and pulled him into a warm hug "oh Naruto! How are you? We were so worried when we heard you had fallen into the river!" she smothered Naruto into a tighter hug; Naruto's reply was muffled as she, unintentionally, pushed his face into her neck.

"Too troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed as he leaned up against the door frame, Ino pulled away from hugging Naruto and gave him Shikamaru a smile

Shikamaru used his shoulder top push him into an upright position and he walked into the room, "Shika-kun! Naruto's alright!" she giggled and jabbed him in the ribs, "Maa… you said he would be still asleep…" she whispered with an evil laugh under her breath, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed "you're too troublesome…" Ino merely laughed

"Well, it's good to see you're okay Naruto! But we have to get going, we're going on a mission in—5 minutes ago?!" Ino screamed and grabbed Shikamaru by the collar, "Bye Naruto! Get better!" Ino squealed as her and Shikamaru dashed out the door and were gone in a flash

Naruto blinked his wide eyes in confusion, they were here one second and gone the next… in the 3 seconds they were there, Naruto was sure they didn't care about what he had done. He sighed and collapsed back on to the bed, his loose bangs slumped back over his face and hid his eyes as they slowly closed in tiredness. After that quick yet wild interruption, who wouldn't be tired? His body was still partially warm from the over-loving and smothering hug that Ino had forced upon him, he looked over at the clock with half-mast eyes. '_1:00… I wonder what Sasuke meant when he said 'night time'…I mean… that could range anywhere between 6pm to 12pm…_' Naruto sighed and moved his body to rest atop the covers, he looked over to the table and saw the pills that Sasuke had given him.

Naruto reached over and picked up the pills, he quickly read over the instructions and jiggled out two little white pills from the bottle. Naruto snatched the water bottle from the table and placed the two tables on his tongue before washing it down with the water, he gagged slightly on the powdery taste of the pills. Naruto shook his head and sighed, he placed the water bottle away and rested on the bed again. Naruto closed his eyes as the effects of the medication were beginning to take affect, his headache was being soothed and his fever seemed to go down dramatically. Of course as soon as it went it came back with a vengeance, "Ah! Naruto! How is my youthful friend today?!" Lee boomed as he entered the room with a yell

Naruto winced "…better" he lied as his headache thumped within his head

"Good to hear! And Neji sends his greatest apologies and hopes the best for you, as does Tenten" He said proudly, Naruto nodded and smiled

"Thanks Lee"

"Well I best be off… Gai-sensei is expecting me too catch up with him, Neji and Tenten! Yosh!" He jumped up and down in excitement and headed for the door, "Tell Neji and Tenten I said 'Hi'" Naruto laughed and waved

"Will do! Goodbye Naruto!" Lee waved vigorously at Naruto and dashed down the hallway and out the door

Naruto sighed and made a silent prayer to god, thanking him for taking the green headache away before his head imploded. Naruto took another pill out of the bottle as his head was pulsing with a fresh headache, he washed it down and snuggled into the warm pillows. He heaved his tired body under the covers and sighed in content. And at the very moment… everything in his life suddenly seemed…

_Perfect…_

**-Owari-**

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(LE GASP) I would've had this up 2 days ago! But someone… (**Cough**dad**cough**) went on a cleaning spree through my comp and deleted most of my stories! Urgh! I've lost chapters 1,2,3,6,17,18,25 and the old version of this chapter… yeah this is the last chapter, but don't worry! There is going to be an epilogue (which I've already started…) and I warn you, it _will_ be bad

A little ending note… I HATE THIS CHAPTER WITH A –FREAKING- PASSION!!! And that there is a moth on my wall staring at me (Paranoid)

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


	28. Epilogue

Ok… here's the epilogue (Sighs) this is going to be a toughie… well! No problem! I'M UP FOR THE CHALLENGE (strikes good guy pose)  
**Everyone:** (Shudders)

**This is dedicated to the one and only, Oukoku Hatsu. Please check her equally great fanfiction, Never Forgiven.**

**Disclaimer** Thy authoress does not own the anime that is being used in the fanfiction of hers… or does she…?

* * *

**Epilogue**

_Three years…_  
Naruto dawdled in the doorway of his and Sasuke's room; they had been living together for around four months now. Naruto sighed and looked at a picture of him and Sasuke, they were both, surprising for Sasuke, smiling. Naruto soon found himself smiling as well, the picture was taken in the park during autumn; Sakura had taken it. Naruto's attention switched from one photo to the bird view one beside it, Naruto had taken it, they were both smiling but the sun seemed to be in their eyes when the photo was taken. Naruto chuckled at the memory, '_I could've missed all this if I had succeeded in running away… god I feel stupid._'

Naruto wrapped his fingers around the edges of his new ANBU mask, it was, _ironically_, in the shape of a fox, much like Sasuke's old one. Sasuke's first mask had gotten damaged in battle; Naruto was quick to decide on him getting a cat one saying that it was like his old personality. Naruto's mask looked dangerous, its eyes were painted in a black and were long like the Kyuubi's with a dark red outlining, it had a black line across the bump were his nose would be and a red dot under the furthest corner of its left eye. He stood there, silently appreciating everything that he had. It was a beautiful silence in their house, Naruto enjoyed these moments… knowing that no matter how quiet it would be, some one was always there anyway.

"Naruto, hurry up!" Sasuke hissed from down the stairs, "you're going to be late!"

Naruto leaned his weight over the banister and looked down at Sasuke with a frown, "But, But…! I can't find my ANBU vest…" he whined, "I've looked _everywhere_…"

"…_Everywhere?_" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto skeptically; he looked from side to side and then back. Sasuke chuckled and looked back at his boyfriend, "you mean the one that's on the chair down here?" Naruto tilted his head and rushed down the stairs to see his new vest draped over said chair, Naruto's face dropped.

"I-I swore I looked there over five times!" Naruto hissed and ran over to the chair, he slipped the white armor vest over his body and shifted it around until it felt right when covering his body, "I wouldn't think I would be… but im actually nervous…" Naruto traced his fingertip around his new ANBU signature spiral tattoo, "but in a good way!" he flashed a knowing smile at Sasuke who complied with half a smile.

"Good to hear, but it's natural to be afraid on your first ANBU mission." Sasuke stated with a nod, Naruto gave him a quizzical look

"were you?" Naruto asked softly

Sasuke snorted, "no!" he replied rudely, crossed his arms and turned away with a huff

Naruto tensed and hissed, "teme…" Naruto pouted and looked in the opposite direction, they stayed like that for a while. The silence was as if it was almost daring them to speak. Sasuke snorted again and looked even further away, Naruto grunted and picked up his mask that lay partially forgotton on the table. He hooked it on to the side of his tight, black pants and began to walk off, he brushed past sasuke, who was still ignoring him, and headed for the door. "Bye."

Sasuke, on reflexes, leapt forward and pushed his body up against Naruto's in a warm hug, Naruto blinked siz times just to get his head around what was happening. Sasuke placed his chin on Naruto's shoulder and whispered, "be safe, love." Naruto turned around in sasuke's loosened grip and pressed his lips against sasuke's in a rough kiss, he pulled back a little too quick for their liking and smiled. "Yeah! You too…"

"Yeah, but _really_ you have to be careful, it's your first Anbu mission and it's an assassination as well." Sasuke said thought fully

Naruto nodded, "I know and I will be careful!" he grinned and gave Sasuke a thumbs up

Sasuke smirked and gave Naruto a chaste kiss on the cheek, "because you remember our promise…" his smirk widened as he wiggled his pinky in front of Naruto's face. Naruto gave him a strange look and thought back as deep as his mind would allow him to go.

_--Flash back--_

_He held Naruto's face within his cupped hands as they both panted and smiled at each other. Naruto let a small blush scatter over his cheeks as he watched Sasuke smile with him; Sasuke spoke up in a hoarse whisper, "Don't ever leave me…"_

"_I won't, if you won't" Naruto promised with a smile and a wiggle of his pinky_

_Sasuke smirked and hooked his pinky with Naruto's, forever promising that neither one of them would leave each other again._

_--End Flashback--_

Naruto laughed and hooked his pinky with Sasuke's and pushed their foreheads together, "I know." Sasuke smirked and pressed his lips against Naruto's in one last goodbye kiss, they pulled away smiling and Naruto ran out the door with a glance and a wave. Naruto stopped at the gate of their house and waved one last time to Sasuke, "See you later!!" The sky was dark as it was early in the morning, Sasuke half smiled and gave a small wave back, "you better get back in one piece, dobe!"

Naruto glared and flipped him off before poking his tongue out at him childishly and running off, Sasuke glared half-heartedly before turning on his heel and walking back inside. Naruto walked to a stop at the end of the street, '_don't worry Sasuke… I'll come back even if im half-dead… I've been waiting all this time and now… __**finally**__… I've got enough to get it_' Naruto smiled and shoved his frog wallet deep into the depths of his pocket and sealed it over, so it would and _couldn't_ escape. Naruto unhooked his mask and slipped it gently over his face, he leapt up on to a random rooftop with a silent 'tap'. His feet barely touched the tiles on the roofs as he leapt from one to another in record-breaking speed.

"Naruto!" a girlish voice called out from below him, he looked down to find his pink-haired friend.

Bouncing off random trees around them, he landed next to her flawlessly. Naruto pulled up his mask so she could see his face, "hey Sakura-chan!" he gave her a dazzling smile, which she happily returned to him. "Hi Naruto! I see you're going on your first mission now, right?" She asked politely with a tilt of her head. Naruto chuckled and replied.

"Yeah! I'm so excited!" He said happily, his smile never leaving his face

Sakura nodded with a smile, "I heard it's an assassination mission, you must be very trustworthy to them."

Naruto looked at her skeptically, "ya know… I never thought about it like that, I guess you're right!" His smile brightly returned to his face, "Unless… they hope I die in the mission…" he half laughed and half sulked at the thought, Sakura whacked him over the head with her fist.

"Idiot! Of course they don't want you dead! Gosh! You're even stronger than Sasuke-kun! Who wouldn't want that on the Anbu?!" she huffed and gave Naruto a playful glare

"Is that true?" Naruto asked with a blink

"Well, yeah! I mean who wouldn't want the most strongest guy in Konoha to be on--"

"No! I mean… am I really stronger than Sasuke?" He asked hesitantly

Sakura paused for a minute and stared off into space, "I suppose… I've never really seen you two spar against each other to be completely sure… but from what I've seen, OF COURSE YOU ARE!" she giggled and slapped Naruto playfully on the back

Naruto laughed with her and rubbed his back; he pulled his mask back down over his mask and gave her a small wave. "See you tomorrow Sakura-chan!"

Sakura kissed the side of his mask and waved as well, "Bye Naruto! And you better stay safe or, so help me god, I will skin you alive!" she threatened "and don't even think what Sasuke will do to you, if you don't!"

Naruto laughed nervously at the thought, "oh and Sakura-chan…?"

"Yes?" she lifted her head innocently to look at him

Naruto swallowed hard and leaned down to her height and whispered into her ear, Sakura's confused expression changed into shock and then pure happiness. Sakura wrapped her arms around his forearm and cheered, "Oh Naruto! That's wonderful! And I totally have to be the first one you tell his answer too! Okay? Okay!"

Naruto laughed and pried his arm away from her iron grip, "okay! Okay! You're hurting my arm now Sakura-chan…" he laughed and whined at the same time. She dejectedly let go and gave him a knowing smirk "that's another reason why you have to come back in one piece!"

"I know, I know! Jeez… I'm not some rare species that needs constant supervision!" Naruto scoffed and leapt up on to the nearest rooftop, he looked down at Sakura with a hidden smile "goodbye Sakura-chan!"

Sakura waved vigorously at him and turned around as she continued on her merry way, Naruto turned on his heel and jumped off on to an unknown balcony before leaping on to another one and so forth. Naruto quickly skidded to a halt and skipped off into a different direction, "whoops… almost forgot, Kiba wanted to see me off before I go… haven't seen him in weeks…" Naruto spoke to himself as he continued to jump off rooftop to rooftop as he aimed for Kiba's house, Naruto opened his eyes to quickly recognize the area. He smiled behind his mask as he recognized the dog-boy leaning over the edge of his balcony. Naruto made a quick crash-landing beside him with a smirk, "WOAH!" Kiba stuttered as Naruto appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey Kiba! How's it going?" Naruto pulled up his mask to flash him a dazzling grin

"Fine, yourself?" Kiba said, after catching his breath

"Yeah! Good!" Naruto continued smiling, he looked down to see a small child clinging to her father's leg. She had short-length brown hair and pale eyes like her mother, when her gaze caught Naruto's she shyly hid her face in the back of her father's leg. Naruto grinned and crouched down low to around her height, "and how are you, Kotaru-chan?" Naruto said as her petted her hair lovingly "shouldn't you be in bed?"

Kiba laughed, "she begged me for her to stay up so she could see you, as she loves her '_Naruto-sama_'" Kiba laughed again and Naruto just sent him a playful punch in the shoulder, "so where's Hinata?"

"Oh, she's inside feeding Rin." He said making a half-assed gesture to the doorway, Naruto laughed and nodded

"Well, little Kotaru-chan here has grown a lot" he gave her a smile, Kotaru rushed up to Naruto and made gestures about her height

"Yeah! Yeah! I was this high before! Now I is this high, Naruto-sama!" She continued to make gestures while standing on her tippy-toes to appear taller than she was. Naruto chuckled and ruffled her hair, "Yes, Kotaru-chan, is getting really tall!" he humored her; she smiled at him brightly and ran back behind her father's legs. She had the natural pizzazz of her father while the innocence of her mother was noticeable.

"H-hello Naruto-kun…" Hinata came through the door and spoke in a low whisper, in her arms was her newborn son, Rin.

"Hello Hinata, how are you?" Naruto mimicked her way of speaking so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping baby

"A bit tired… but good, and yourself?" Hinata had matured, and her stuttering had died down once she had gotten into a full-relationship with Kiba

"Oh im fine, and this must be… Rin, who Kiba mentioned before." Naruto said childishly, he peeked over the blankets so see her gorgeous new baby, "Maa… he's cute." Naruto felt the dark stare of another, he nervously turned around to see Kotaru staring daggers at him, "and of course, so is Kotaru-chan!" he laughed nervously, hoping her jealousy would recede if he complimented her.

Kotaru smiled and ran inside, Naruto sighed and stretched "well I best be off… im late enough as it is!" Naruto groaned, Kiba and Hinata laughed and Naruto gave them a serious look, "no, really."

"O-oh! Then we'll see you when we see you then, goodbye Naruto-kun!" Hinata waved as Kiba put his arm around her shoulders lovingly

"Yeah, see ya Naruto! Don't get eaten out there!" Kiba joked and went inside with his wife

Naruto pulled down his mask and sighed quietly to himself, "why does everyone suspect I'll get killed…?" He ignored the question and continued on his previous way, Naruto leapt on to a thick tree branch before jumping off on to another one. He jumped to the ground and bounded towards the gates he was destined to start his mission at. Naruto let a wide grin run across his lips in delight, '_I can't wait…_'

**-Later-**

Naruto sighed and wiped the away the sweat on his forehead that was slowly tickly down, his clothes were blood stained and dirty from battle. It was 7:30, Naruto had gotten back early since the assassination was a complete success. He walked down the street and pulled out his wallet, it was over-flowing with the many dollars that were safely nestled away inside of it. He threw off his blood stained ANBU outfit and shoved it deep within the backpack he had brought along, he pulled out a fresh orange shirt and pulled on some loose, black pants. Naruto sighed in comfort and began walking towards a tall building. A long path led the way down to the doorway with bright, gleaming lights, the automatic door swung open as Naruto approached the door way.

Many people swung around to see the late-night shopper, some sent him a dirty look and looked away while others attempted to make their merchandise look affordable. Naruto walked into the classiest looking shop, everything was surrounded by glass casing and twinkled under the small lights. The young clerk stood at the counter with a smile, Naruto looked up at him with a wide grin and spoke "Hello"

"Hello sir, how many I help you today?" He spoke in a highly educated voice as Naruto ran his eyes over the cases in front of him; lots and lots of rings were as far as the eye could see. Diamonds, Sapphires, Emeralds, Rubies and many more rocks shone brightly under the illumination. One caught his interest very easily; it was a silver ring with a well-sized diamond in the middle that was surrounded by many tiny diamonds, the price tag dangled around into Naruto's direction labeling the ring at '$2500'(1) Naruto grinned and pointed to the ring, "I would like to purchase this one please" he spoke in a higher manner of voice, the clerk nodded and pulled the ring out.

"Would you like it in a box or a bag?" He asked, rolling the ring around in between his index finger and thumb

"Box" Naruto replied, his smile never wavering

The man nested the ring into the velvety red box and handed it towards Naruto, "Thank you, here's your ring" Naruto grabbed the box and pushed it down into the same pocket as his wallet, giving the clerk a smile of gratitude and a wave as he left the store. Naruto walked out to the front of the store, he pulled out the ring box and watched the velvet shimmer under the streetlights. Naruto walked down the street as he clicked open the box, the ring glinted under the lights and the diamonds sparkled dimly under the fading light that hung dangerously low off the streetlamp. Naruto clicked the box back shut with a contented sigh; he looked up and noted that their house wasn't too far away. _Their_ house… it still felt strange thinking that.

Naruto ran up to the creaky gate and jumped over it, he grinned tiredly and walked up to the door giving it a loud whack. Naruto leaned up against the screen door in a tired fashion; Sasuke swung the door open with a smile. "Hey, you're back early" Sasuke said opening the screen door and pulled Naruto by the wrist inside, Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head "Yeah, I finished it really quickly." Butterflies filled Naruto's stomach as he spoke.

"Alright then." Sasuke said walking into the kitchen, "I'll make dinner, you relax"

"Y-yeah…" Naruto stuttered quietly under his breath, he wanted to go sit down but his feet felt like they were glued to the floor. Naruto swallowed loudly and shuffled one step but felt as if he couldn't go any further, '_what if he says no? Then what'll I do…?_' Sasuke swung his head around the corner of the doorway and gave Naruto a strange look "Oi dobe? You alright?"

Naruto was too deep in his thoughts to hear Sasuke; He scowled and walked up to Naruto, Sasuke slapped him upside the head and sent him a glare "Oi? Didn't you hear me?" he asked with a hiss

"Sasuke…" Naruto purred darkly under his breath

"Mm?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms with a scowl

Naruto took Sasuke's hand and bent down on to one hand, Sasuke's eyes widened in shock '_I-is he… going to…?_' Naruto looked up at Sasuke and pulled the small, velvet box out of his pocket, Sasuke inwardly squealed as he felt his heartbeat rise dramatically '_oh my god he is! Im so nervous… god dammit I sound like a girl_' Sasuke took a deep breath as he watched Naruto flick the box open, he fell in love with the ring at first sight. Naruto swallowed hard and looked deep into Sasuke's eyes, "Sasuke… will you marry me?" Sasuke stayed silent.

Naruto bit his bottom lip, fearing rejection straight away. Sasuke shook his head to get out of his daze, "Y-yes! I will Naruto!" He yelped in excitement, Naruto thought he didn't hear right but Sasuke's heart-warming smile reassured him that he had heard right. Naruto smiled and jumped up, he wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Naruto squealed in happiness

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and hugged him back "no, thank _you_ Naruto…" Sasuke purred into Naruto's ear with a lick, Naruto shuddered in delight and pulled back. He pulled out the ring from its casing and pushed it on Sasuke's finger, he smiled and then looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke smirked and brought Naruto in a possessive hold "Now you're mine, and _no one_ can touch you!" He growled in a seductive tone into Naruto's ear. Naruto flushed and pushed Sasuke away with a playful glare, "Tch. You're _sooooo_… possessive towards me." Naruto huffed

Sasuke smirked "how can't I be? You're _sooooo_… adorable" he replied in a mimic of the same tone Naruto had spoke in

Sasuke grabbed Naruto and placed butterfly kisses across his shoulder, Naruto groaned in pure bliss and Sasuke smirked into his neck as he stopped the kisses. Sasuke rested his chin on Naruto's neck, "come on… lets go _celebrate_" Sasuke nuzzled into Naruto's neck who just purred in reply.

* * *

AND I'M DONE!!! (Screams) do you know how long ago I wanted to finish this? About 27 chapters ago! (Sighs) at least it is done…  
**Please make sure to look out for my new story that I'll be making soon…** I'm thinking of calling it 'Thanks For The Memories' but that's a song so… eh, it might take a while.

_**I hope you enjoyed this story!**_ I am sorry for the mix up at the beginning but as you can see, this story is nothing like the other. So please stop judging me.

BTW: Another horrible chapter, I'm sorry.

Love,  
Sweet Tragedies


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